From “Who Am I?” to “Be You”: How Writing Helped Me Find Myself

Before leaving for college, my mom gave me a copy of Chicken Soup for the College Soul. Opening the paperback cover and reading story after story about fearless students coming of age inspired me to celebrate my transition into the uncertainties of adulthood. At that time, I was merely a reader, not yet a writer. The only person who had ever praised my writing was my 7th-grade teacher, Ms. Valenzuela at Lincoln Middle School. Her warm eyes peeked through her 90s bangs as she said, “I cried reading your ‘Who Am I’ project. It was beautifully written.” Those words stayed with me.