A Writer's Perspective

as a person who is in school, I sometimes end up in classes that I do not particularly like at first. however, one particular class that I was in was "creative writing." as an aspiring artist, sometimes I wonder why I decided to take that class, or how I ended up there, but that is neither here nor there. in that class, I met a particular person who made me ask myself alot of questions. he is a fantastic writer, and he didn't flaunt it. each time that he would stand up to read one of his writings, he would tremble from nervousness. as each word exited his mouth, the gravity of what he had written began to weigh down on me.

he wrote a story about a student, who had nothing, that was trying his hardest to work hard in school against all odds. as he began to tell his story, I listening more and more closely. as time passed, I realized that this was not just a story, but he was telling us some of what had happened to him in the past. for you see, Todd, the writer of this story, worked at a bar each night to try to pay bills. sometimes, he would leave work at 7:00am and rush to school to sit through his classes. he must have been exhausted most days. still, he continued to pursue his passion for writing, and telling his stories. I was so impacted by those stories, because I could associate with some, but they made me feel such respect for him and what his goals were.

the most impressive part of this story, is that Todd was unsure of his ability to write. he just wrote because he loves to write. so time after time during that class he would write stories that would cause some of us to weep, laugh, and smile. the words almost seemed to jump off of the pages that he read from. Todd is working on a book that contains all of his best work. he has also won multiple writing competitions and awards for his work while he was in Creative Writing with me. his particular story that impacted me the most, that almost made me cry, was called "Strange Coincidence."

this is Todd's way of shining: using words to change people's minds. you can read more of what Todd has written here. thank you for making a difference Todd.

know of someone making a difference? please send their story to info@shineyournamehere.org. we love to hear about people that shine in their daily lives.