108,192 Words.

This post is long overdue, but on March 14^th, 2016, I found myself awake around 5 AM, smiling, because I was looking at a document on my computer that held 108,192 words and 163 pages. These words and pages were entirely my own creation. I had just finished writing my first book, and I was in the same room where it all began from a dream about five years prior.

Being a person who never really stuck with projects in the past made this moment extraordinary. For the first time, I forced myself to stick with this project to the end—just to prove to myself that I can finish tasks that are important to me. I do have a couple friends I can thank for pushing me along the way, but for now, you know exactly who you are and I’m so grateful for you.

After graduation in May, I spent four days working diligently from the time I woke up, to the time I went to bed cutting my first edit on this book. On May 14^th, 2016, I completed the first edit and printed a copy to send off to a friend who is currently editing it further. I never understood the extent of editing until I began further editing my book on my own a few weeks ago. In two hours I was only three pages deep, and found myself so grateful for editors. I truly believe you’ll never understand the extent of another person’s job until you spend a day working in their shoes.

This next part is something I wasn’t sure if I wanted to add, but I feel it’s important because for most of my life, I’ve turned to words to express myself and I know I’m not the first person to do so. Writing can be a very personal matter for the author, but for the average Joe reading the pages of a book, they might simply think it’s a story of characters strengths and weaknesses trying to grip their way to the top. However, this story is much more. This book was where I turned when I had no answer to my life’s questions. If I was happy, sad, feeling weak, or feeling absolutely confident, I decided to write to bring life into my writing. When I read this book, I also read the hidden message that I’ve encrypted. My life up until March has become woven through the lines of my book, and once I pressed the final key on my keyboard, I finally felt a complete sense of peace. Yes, I had gotten my dream written and that was a pressure I could finally ease up on, but I had also gotten my own story written and at last the struggles I once knew dissipated into a faded memory. All the wonderful memories shined through, and world events that I’ve lived through found a place among the words to remind me how great and full of opportunity this life can be.

When I was in second grade, I told myself I would write a book one day and I would get it published. This experience taught me how rewarding it is to reach a dream goal, and to never stop pushing myself towards what I want to achieve in this life. I have the book written, and it’s getting polished up daily. Soon, I will find a publisher. One day, hopefully not too far away, someone other than myself can open my book and find the adventure as humbling as the message on the pages.