"Go and change the world Bryanna, I can already see you helping millions."

This was said to me last summer, shortly before I left for school. Although I was not sure what this girl meant (whether I was going to impact literally millions of people or simply anyone who sets foot into my life), her words are a daily reminder of my life's calling: writing.

I started writing small stories and autobiographies inspired by my first grade class and from reading what my cousins wrote. After spending summer days with my sister and cousins, I would write about what we did and reflect my thoughts in my diary or on my family computer. I always looked forward to journal entries assigned by elementary/middle school teachers and in my spare time. Despite my brief but passionate history, I did not consider writing as a career until the end of my eighth grade year, when I discovered it was an existing field of study.

I spent the following summer at a creative writing camp to broaden my horizons (knowledge, ideas, career). To summarize my writing journey in high school (excluding my freelance work): I briefly joined a writer's club, entered and published a few poems for Creative Communication (which is funny because I never cared for poetry until sophomore year), and developed a passion for theater (I initially selected the course simply for my fine arts credit).

Now that I have been out to high school for almost a year and a half, and currently taking a break from college, I am taking advantage of the opportunity to focus on my writing journey without distractions from classes and studying. My purpose to writing applies to: helping and inspiring others, expressing myself, informing others on my passions, embracing my heritage/childhood, and self-reflection.

Some of my passions include: family studies (I am very fascinated by the Family & Consumer Science field--also my second/alternative major); literature (adolescent, African-American, Christian); future goals and what I hope to accomplish; and psychological studies (MBTI personality profiles, Gallup StrengthsFinder, TED talks). A few writing pieces I hope to complete sometime in my life, maybe not all, would be: self development books, biographies, short stories, and plays.

My goal in life is to leave a lasting impact on someone's life, from words of encouragement to my published work. I am motivated by family and closest friends; people I have encountered from school, work, church; and from the books, movies, and stories I have heard throughout my life. I am excited to see where my writing journey leads to!