I just looked back on the stories I wrote as a teenager compared to now, and I'm so glad how much I've developed as a writer because if I still wrote like how I did back then, I wouldn't get one person that would like my writing. It actually makes my toes curl with cringe at how badly I wrote back then. And this is why I read. Reading has helped me develop my writing so much. I pick pieces from other books, quotes, and descriptions I enjoy and think are good, and shape them into something new. Like a bit of playdough, someone might've made it into a daisy, but I've shaped it into a rose.
I just am so grateful for those who have stuck to reading my stuff. Even some of my newer books, like Strawberry Ice-cream isn't as good as the newer ones like In Too Deep, and who knows, maybe years from now my writing will shift again, and it'll shape into something better than it is today.