“How did you start writing?” is one question I am often asked when introduced as an award-winning author of two bilingual personalized children’s books. My answer to that question is that there was a perfect storm brewing which led me down that path.
Over the years, family and friends often encouraged me to write a book. Each time I entertained the idea, I remember thinking, “I could never string together enough words to write a book.” Those very words were the ones that popped into my head whenever my ninth grade English teacher (Mrs. Burke) suggested that some of us in the class may one day write a book. Those moments were a little disappointing because although I really enjoyed writing, I always dismissed the idea of writing a book either because I didn’t think I could crank out 300 pages or because I couldn’t fathom what I would write about. As a result, I put my writing skills to use editing letters and resumes for friends, correcting my children’s grammar, and writing occasional blog posts.
In the summer of 2012, I had several conversations with my best friend Dana, who was preparing for a career in motivational speaking. At that time, she was focused on developing a process for helping people to find their purpose. I agreed to let Dana test out her ideas on me. As I provided her with feedback, I began to think that maybe a career in translation wasn’t right for me.
Shortly after my conversations with Dana, my parents came to visit while I was still pondering what I might do if I decided not to continue translating. I offhandedly mentioned to my mom and dad that I preferred writing the blog posts to promote my translation business more than I enjoyed translating. Their response was, “You should write a children’s book!” This time, I let the thought sink in. I even remember smiling, knowing that I would enjoy writing a book for kids even though I still wasn’t sure what I’d write about. Thanks to Dana and my parents, began to consider a new career path. And once I came up with a few children’s book ideas, I saw clearly that I could employ my skill of writing to not only earn an income, but also to serve a higher purpose: to touch lives.
I didn’t comprehend all of the ramifications of the decision I was about to make. Nor did I know exactly how I would embark on this journey. I felt as though I was standing atop a cliff, excited about jumping even though I didn’t know what I was about to jump into. I was about to become a writer.