Rainer Maria Rilke once wrote in a letter to a young poet, “This above all—ask yourself in the stillest hour of your night: must I write? Delve into yourself for a deep answer. And if this should be affirmative, if you meet the earnest question with a strong and simple “I must” then build your life according to that necessity…” 

My answer to this question is that I must. This small corner of the internet is a part of me building my life according to that necessity. As I build, I want to build alongside others. 

I am an introverted people’s person. I need the quiet and I need the connection, writing allows me to have both. When I was 16, I had an urge to start a blog in order to allow writing to become a means of connection and encouragement. Over the years, that blog evolved into a space where I also invited others to write. I would create a few prompts every year that I’d share with others to write on. People would send in their writing and I’d create a compilation. As the compilations grew and as I grew as a writer, my blog evolved into a website and my writing began to expand into the realm of poetry. 

As my health took a turn in 2021 due to my rare kidney disease, writing grew to be a part of my livelihood. I had to switch gears and step away from the classroom. In doing so,  I made a deal with myself: I could not stop dreaming. In all the change, I began to take advantage of the time I had to more seriously pursuing writing. I attended Mari Andrews' Writing Retreat, compiled together some of my poems from last year and created a book, started a bi-weekly newsletter, created a Patreon, and began working with others as a writing coach. More than ever before, writing has become ingrained to my day-to-day life.  

I look at this pivot and writing space not as me rebuilding, but instead as me building upon all that I’ve invested into prior to the here and now. I think of my high school self desperate to find ways to express. I think of my college self creatively wanting to break down the barriers people have internally when it comes to writing and sharing writing. I think of the nervous student teacher seeking to inspire 6th graders, only to be left inspired by them and their brilliance. I think of my post-graduate self learning to use writing as a means of healing and advocating. And, I think of every 8th grade student I had the joy of teaching and the sheer privilege it was to come alongside them as a writer. 

This space is for them. 
This space is for all my younger selves.
This space is for you.