When I was 5 years old, my dad asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I told him I wanted to be a princess. He laughed and shook his head. By the age of 8, I wanted to be Secreatary of State. I wanted to help change the world. By age 10, I wanted to be a lawyer and I was so excited because law was the perfect fit for me (according to friends and various realtives) So there it was my perfect career until a year ago when I decided I want to be a writer.

A year ago my life was in shambles. I failed a class and I had to reatake it. I lost some friends due to some personal isssurs and my home life was complicated. I was a mess and besides my best friend Dee, I didn't have a real outlet.Then I thought what if I wrote down what I was feeling to get the weight off my chest. So one day in the midst of my wallowing and pity, I was writing websites/blogs and lo and behold I found a website called TeenInk. I didn't know what to write at first. Everyone seemed to have their own voice and because I was a newcomer I didn't think I had anything original to say. So I submitted a poem called "What Is Beauty? I had written earlier in the year. I didn't think anyone would notice it, but I liked it enough that I wanted people to read it. Then 3 days later, I got an email from TeenInk.  "Your article is now featured on Teen Ink!" I couldn't belive it. I got the email at night and I woke up my parents to show them. The next day I sent texted and called my sister and all my friends. I couldn't remember being this excited. I felt so proud.

From that day on, I submitted articles as soon as I could. At first I started with poerty and then when I had built up my confidence, I started writing articles about issues I cared about like gender equality, and religion. I also started writing about myself, which wasn't always easy for me to do in real life but I figured if I could open up to bunch of strangers online, maybe I could also do it to the people I did know. I didn't realize it at first but the more I wrote, the, more veiws I got. I even have a couple of Editor Choice Awards. Then it became clear to me, people read my stuff and more importantly people like what I have to say.

I wanted to be a lawyer because I wanted to help people using my voice. I want to be a writer because I think by using my vioce I can change lives