Diversity in Printed Media by Alana

Diversity in Printed Media by Alana - June 2014 Scholarship Essay

If I were to write a book, I'd prefer to write a fictional novel about a young female protagonist who works hard to escape situations thrown upon her by her biological family. The novel would follow her as she worked to escape an abusive situation and find friends that would help her through the tough times her family insisted she go through; situations like giving up friends or loved areas of study. It would present the idea that sometimes you need to fight for yourself first and foremost, and to put the family you chose to have second, as well as show in vivid detail that the family you are born into is not always you family and that it is okay to leave that family. The story would take place the past, almost like a medieval or dungeons and dragons kind of era, and include characters that are not only different races, but different sexualities. This would help create a much more diverse and interesting story than other stories where only two or three diverse characters are included.

I would want to write this story to help kids and young adults find their identities easier, and provide a story to present to the ever changing diversity in society. I also want to write a novel like this because I am close to the issues of lack of identities and verbal manipulation from my own biological family. I think a story like this would create a better impact on kids who are dealing with hiding themselves from their families and having to hide their opinions and feelings. This novel would create a much needed diversity in novels, a diversity which includes race,gender, sexuality, and the protagonist fighting themselves and their family instead of a magical creature or an impossible problem.