On a freezing cold morning, sitting on my windowsill in our Soviet-style apartment building in the tiny country of Moldova, I pulled out a journal. It had a pink polka dot cover and green paper. I started writing about what I saw looking out my window — the stray dogs, the people that I thought looked funny, the snow that kept coming down. I wrote about how I was feeling about moving to this strange country. I furiously jotted down all of my frustrations of losing my friends, learning a weird language, and my annoying little sister.
For the first time since I stepped on that plane with my backpack and suitcase, I felt better. I felt like I had been able to release all these bottled up feelings.
I knew I wanted to be a writer.
It has been over ten years since I took out that pink-and-green journal, which still sits on my bookcase. I have moved several more times, lost several more friends and even learned bits of other weird languages, and I have filled many more journals. I have journals that recount my first days of high school, my college experiences, boyfriends, best friends, and not-so-great friends. I have catalogued my engagement and wedding, my spiritual growth over the decade, deaths and losses, and even a global pandemic.
I never stopped writing.
My life looks a lot different now than that 10-year-old girl in the windowsill thought it would, but I couldn’t be happier. Here on this blog, I’m sharing what my life looks like now and what is important to me. I teach high-functioning special education at a rural Jr./Sr. high school, and I write as much as I can, so I definitely stay busy! Writing continues to be my passion and the best way I have found to speak out about the things that matter to me.
I hope you enjoy what you find here. If you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via the Contact page.
All the best,
𝓢𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓱 𝓔. 𝓑𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓸𝓷