My childhood was much, much different from most kids.

I panicked whenever my skin made contact with the elements of nature. I never received much pleasure from running around the elementary school lap. I never enjoyed rolling in the dirt with the other kids.

What I did enjoy was staying indoors, protected from the harsh elements of Tennessee and writing a book. With ten pages of computer paper, staples, and lots of Crayola products, I wrote and created my very own "books." These makeshift books served as a simple pastime whenever the power was shut out or playing with the same, old dolls got boring.

Originally, my stories were days in the life of my favorite female singers, but eventually, I made it onto my own fictional red carpet. Through my stories, I was everything and anything. Cheerleader. Singer. Actor. Basketball player. A+ plus student. You name it; I was it.

As a kid in Kindergarten, I never thought too much about my hobby. I began realizing the benefits of my writing with each passing year.

Because I wrote so much on my own, wracking up a word count for school essays was never an issue. It never mattered if my teachers chose boring topics like history or science; I always managed to find something to fluff up to five hundred words.

My stories always included the craziest ideas. Because I thought of such unique topics in my writing, playtime for me at school and at home alone with my dolls never got dull. Writing served as an exercise for coming up with creative, out-of-the-ordinary ideas in my day-to-day life.

What was never understood through conversation could always be communicated through my writing. Though my shy, insecure self in my past always hesitated before making the first move, a headstrong, confident version of me was always there to push through once I put pen to paper. This is how people truly began to notice my quirky, outgoing personality.

Eventually, I came to embrace my hobby as a lifestyle.

I don't care if centering my life around writing fails to produce six figures. I don't care if finding a job will be difficult. Because I know that I'll survive in this money-oriented world doing what I love.