At the conclusion of day one of #hashnodebootcamp: The Art & Business of Technical Writing, Sam tossed out a writing prompt challenging us to tell our story of how we each became writers. My mind instantly started thinking of origin stories in the style of some of my favorite movies in the Marvel Comics Universe. In that light, here is my writing origin story.

It all started for me as a natural extension of being a precocious reader. As the story goes, somewhere around two and a half years old, my dad came home from work to find I was reading some women's magazines my mom had around the house. Apparently he was skeptical when my mom said I was reading and I was called upon to read an article out loud. I don't really remember this particular episode but, I do remember some like it. It was not unusual for my dad to put me in situations where he would show off my early reading abilities. I can't tell you how many times I read off entire menus in places like ice cream shops to the amazement of strangers. It quickly became clear from the reaction and attention that this was an unusual skill for my given age and I embraced the idea of being special because of it.

My childhood was a messy time and I leaned hard into books and reading as a form of safety and escapism. I read everything I could get my hands on from cereal boxes to entire sets of encyclopedias (yes, I'm that old). I wanted to read about and learn everything. I understood at an early age that knowledge and learning was power and the key to getting anywhere in life. So I kept reading anything and everything. I remember my fifth grade teacher introducing the idea of journaling and giving us writing prompts each day. One day I did what was apparently a bit of a deep dive into my emotions around my parents divorce process. The reaction from the teacher, and eventually my principal and parents, was much stronger than I could have anticipated. I learned then I had the ability to not just absorb information, feelings, experiences, and opinions but to share those same things from my mind with others. I felt heard and that was powerful to a kid with so little control over anything going on around her.

I always tested well on anything writing and reading related and got top grades in these areas as well. I latched on to writing as "that thing I am good at" and it definitely became part of my identity. I realized not everyone had this ability and it became a solid part of what made me feel capable and special. It still does. I have leveraged writing ability in every industry I have worked in from restaurants to finance to nursing. There are times when I write a lot, and others where I don't write anything for months, but it's a skill I know I can always call upon when I need it. That's pretty powerful!