Writing Narrative

 

I have always seen myself as more of a reader than a writer.  As a child, books and the stories they contained were my escape. Books were a refuge from the trauma, sadness and devastating feeling of being a disappointment to those around me.  My older brother Keith was exceptional in every way. He excelled in school, receiving fantastic grades and glowing reports from his teachers and had achingly beautiful handwriting as well. He was a fantastic athlete, a figure skater with grace and strength then later a pairs skater with promise and international medals. He was an Olympic hopeful. Keith was meticulous and exacting about his surroundings, reorganizing his room and deep cleaning it at least once a month.  I was a little girl who struggled with undiagnosed ADHD. I would get lost in a book when I was supposed to clean my room, I had difficulty completing my homework and when I did, I would often forget to turn it in. My high-test scores prompted my school district to invite me to join advanced placement programs, however, my parents always declined, citing my inconsistency with homework completion and my tendency to daydream during school. I was not a successful figure skater; I grew too tall for the sport early in my competitive career. Also, I suffered trauma that was not related to my immediate family which caused internal struggles.

My earliest memory of writing something I loved was in 4th or 5th grade. I authored a story about a woman who discovered a baby in a pumpkin that grew in her garden.  My teacher that year was a wonderful, positive influence in my life. She had faith in me and sent a note home about my story. She also included it with the assignments that would go in my elementary scrapbook, which I received at sixth grade graduation. My dad was my biggest cheerleader. He raved about that story and encouraged me to keep writing.

The truly pivotal moment in my writing journey was in seventh grade. As an assignment in my English class, I wrote a narrative about running down a sandy path toward a beach on a family trip to Hawaii with the Navy. I worked so hard to try and include all the senses into my narrative.  I wanted my teacher to feel the wind whipping, the sun beating down hot, to smell the briny salt and sea grass, hear the waves as they crashed and broke on the sand and the joyful caws of the gulls, along with the sounds of people; kids laughing and squealing, parents calling out warnings or praise, teenagers commentating their games. I wanted her to know the feeling of the sand grains, squishing between my toes as I ran barefoot to the water’s edge. I wanted my teacher to experience this day the way it lived in my memory. I loved this assignment, it was hard, but surprisingly, it kept my attention and stretched my writing muscles. This assignment was a substantial achievement for me. I earned an A on the paper, one of the few I received that year, and I was so eager to show my mom and dad. My dad talked about that narrative for years. It gave me the courage and confidence to continue writing,

  During Jr. High and High school, I joined the school newspaper staff. It was in these classes that I seriously began to consider a career as a writer, a journalist or perhaps an author. 

As I grew older, I continued writing in my journal, often drafting poems about my life and circumstances. My journal was my new refuge, the place I turned to for stress and anxiety relief, to let my feelings and emotions bleed onto the paper. It allowed me to work through my childhood trauma and feelings of inadequacy in a way that was private and worked for me. I began to write my hopes and dreams in my journal.

After high school, I took a job working at an oil refinery while attending community college. I worked in the safety department where I discovered I had the ability and knack for writing technical documents such as policies, standard operating procedures and safety training materials. This type of writing was different from what I had done before, it was straightforward and formulaic which made it easy for me.

During my time at the refinery, I became a single mother. I loved being a mother so much and often found myself writing about my child, who became the center of my life the moment she was born. She was my world, and I loved to write about her. I wrote a poem called “Little Witch and the Moon” inspired by us and Halloween.  This poem remains one of my favorites.

Interestingly, my last journal entry was the night I went on my first date with my husband. I wrote, “I met the man I’m going to marry.” and detailed our date activities and my feelings for him. I never intended it to be my last entry, but my life became remarkably busy with school, dating my now husband and taking care of my daughter. 

After getting married, I left the refinery, but I continued to use the technical writing skills I gained as a contract technical writer for other companies to help support my young family’s needs. When my oldest daughter was diagnosed with genetic progressive hearing loss at age 5, I paused my college education to take care of my family and shifted my contract work to editing reports and documents for companies, tutoring students in English and creating resumes for family looking for jobs.

At 32, I went back to school to finish my degree. My youngest child was two at the time, and it was important to show my kids- and myself- that I could set a goal and put in the work to achieve it. I initially planned to pursue a degree in English teaching, but due to the demands of my family commitments, I could not go to school full time on campus. Instead, I chose to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education online. I began doing academic writing for my classes and rediscovered my love for writing.

Currently, writing is a consistent part of my job description. As a Jr. High School Special Educator, I write lesson plans, Individual Education Plans (IEPs), behavior plans, interventions, communications to students and parents, progress reports and data collection.

My great-grandfather and my grandmother have been important influences in my journey as a writer. My great-grandfather was a writer and a cartoonist. He used his skills to chronicle his time as a bombardier in the Airforce during WWII. His daughter, my grandmother is an amazing lifelong poet whose words have always moved me.

In the future, I hope to continue writing academically so I can complete my master’s degree, receive my Special Education Professional License, and pursue a doctorate degree. I also aspire to publish my poem “Little Witch and the Moon” as an illustrated children’s book and bring to life the stories that I have saved in notebooks and in my imagination, with the eventual goal of becoming a published author.