How The Stories Begin:Just Write It July 2016

Introduction

This is my first Just Write It month. I never knew that I would write one. It is July 2nd. Right now, at this moment, I am in the car on a seven hour ride across states, listening to Hamilton on the loudest volume I can possibly put it on without my parents and cousins yelling me. Actually, the song Non-Stop is ringing through my head. It gets me thinking about my own writing actually. The lyrics say how Alexander Hamilton, one of our Founding Fathers, would do anything to climb to the top, even if everyone else was telling him to stop. Hamilton ignored all of them and kept writing and making his dreams come true. Out of the 85 essays in the Federalists Papers, Hamilton wrote 51. Everyone kept asking "Why do you write like tomorrow won't arrive, how do you write like you need it to survive, how do you write every second you're alive?" Honestly, I don't even know if Hamilton knew why he wrote so much.

Everyone who has a passion of writing probably don't have that extreme of a case. Heck, every other chapter I write I have a writer's block, trying to put my thoughts onto paper. It should be easy for me, because everyone sees me as someone who always says what's on my mind, sometimes without a filter. But trust me, there is so much more I want to say and do in my life. I am proud to call myself a writer and of course when I tell people that, they all underestimate me. They think that me being a writer means I'm a teenager that writes love poems of a boy that I will never meet. Actually, I've never written a love poem in my life. But I have written award winning short stories and poems that get people thinking about their own lives and society as a whole. I've had people laugh, cry, and come at me screaming to update my book. I'm sorry, even though writing is a major part of my life, I can't even try to put most of my focus into it, even though my heart longs for me to write every day, non-stop. I am a writer but I am also a high school student looking at colleges, a gold medalist of the United States Figure Skating Association, a pianist, a violist, a singer, a dancer, and a pursuer in acting. I have a lot on my plate and in all honesty, I wouldn't have it any other way.

I never had a day in my life where I would come home from school, put my bag down, have a snack, do my homework, and be free for the rest on the night. Even now, that's looked down on because society assumes those people are lazy and don't take opportunities that come up for them. But some of those people might take that free time to write, to update on Wattpad, to free write what's on their mind. But the world of a writer is kind of hard because no one really takes you seriously. When someone asks you what you're doing after school, you can't just say "I might write a couple chapters of my book." And them actually believing you immediately. You have to make it sound so official, like "I have been working on a piece for a writing competition." Even "creative writing club" has some backlash because everyone thinks it's a waste of time. Why take other writing clubs seriously, like yearbook club, and not creative writing? Is it because they produce something in the end of every year? One of those kids in creative writing might be producing a best seller at the same time.

When I saw the theme of this month's Just Write It, I had no idea what I would ever write about. My life has had its big moments and small self-accomplishments, but what to actually write 10,000 words on is a little intense, so I guess a little autobiography is a good idea. But let's make it centered around my writing. Although writing has only been a small portion of my life, really digging down and seeing where it all came from is a good idea. It's cool for my audience to see, but it's also a great way to see my writing timeline for myself. So before I begin, my name is Ariel McCoy, @icesk8ingariel1601 here on Wattpad and Instagram (self-promo why not), and this is my writing story that began the rest of my stories.