Here I Am, World

What is it about stories that captivates us so deeply?

When I was ten years old, I had an ear infection and was convinced the medicinal drops that bubbled in my ear might actually finish me off. To ease my childish suffering, my father came into my room and began to read me Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Suddenly, I wasn't a miserable kid in bed. Instead, I was swinging through the jungle on vines, swept up in a world far bigger than my own.

A year later, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released. It felt magical to grow up alongside Harry, Ron, and Hermione, discovering their world book-by-book at the same ages they did.

As a teenager, I adored Ella Enchanted. I still remember my disappointment when the movie adaptation, though fun and charming, barely resembled the book I loved.

As an adult, during the summer of 2020, I devoured Regency romance after Regency romance, clinging to them as a source of joy in a tumultuous time.

Stories shape us. They make us feel. They stretch our imaginations, teach us, comfort us, and fuel our hopes and dreams.

My wish is to create at least a small piece of that magic to share with the world. As my father says, it's not art if there's no one to appreciate it.

So here I am world. This is me.