A Natural Storyteller by Lillian

A Natural Storyteller by Lillian - February 2025 Scholarship Essay

I was born to a family of storytellers. On my dad's side are my Native American ancestors. Every summer on the Reservation, I would visit the Osooyos Cultural Center and learn of a new myth. Most of the myths revolved around the coyote. I was fascinated with the symbolism and craftmanship of the stories. On my mom's side are the Idaho farmers. At first you may think they don't have many interesting stories to tell, but you would be wrong. My grandpa shares the most engaging and wild stories ever. Most are about how his brother's stupidity almost killed him or the pranks my great-grandma would play on her husband. My favorite are the stories he shares of his love for my grandma.
Ever since I was little, stories were all around me giving me little glimpses into their universe. When I moved to Texas, I met a group of girls who loved writing just as much as me. We shared our ideas with each other to the point that we would start talking over each other. I felt a kinship with these girls and wanted to do everything together with them.
The summer of my sophomore year, my friends introduced me to the Young Authors’ Academy. We attended the camp together. I immediately fell in love. I was surrounded by people who relished stories just as much as I did. We became each other’s cheerleaders and listened intently to everyone’s ideas.
I remember that after the first class, my friends and I looked at each other with smiles on our faces, aching wrists, and journals filled with barely legible handwriting. I ate up the information the teachers provided and took their advice to heart. Each class provided further guidance and direction to improve and create my story.
By the end of the camp, I had an outline of my plot and the motivation to write my story. When I returned home, I kept on writing and researching ways I could improve my writing. Sometimes I lost that motivation and had writer’s block but my friends continued to be my cheerleaders and encouraged me to keep on writing.
I’m still writing and perfecting the story, and I look forward to one day publishing it so the whole world can see the beautiful story I created.