My mother lost the title of "Greatest Storyteller" I bestowed upon her when I was finally able to read Red Riding Hood. At first, I was outraged the tale involved some talking wolf that somehow tricked the heroine with her impersonation of her grandmother.
Where were the dwarfs Mom had guide Red through the enchanted forest, where they met the Cheshire cat, and had tea with three fairies, who watched over a princess's slumber?
New trips to the library and the emergence of Disney films finally answered those questions. My poor mother, tired and half asleep, had created her own brand of bedtime stories. Moby Dick never swallowed Pinocchio, and Cinderella never met the genie of the lamp. Peter Pan did not discover America, and Puss in Boots was not a Jedi knight. But Mom's creative streak, whether purely accidental or masterfully designed, planted a seed in my six year old mind.
In the years that followed, Grammar, Composition and Vocabulary became my favorite subjects.
In the fourth grade, the assignment consisted of writing about Christmas. Where I come from, especially in Catholic school, we could not leave out the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the manger, and the Star of Bethlehem so I was careful to implement those elements into my 500 word essay...
Of course, Freddy and I kept Pegasus and we flew all the way to Bethlehem. We even beat the three kings and got first row seats to the birth of the Messiah!
It was the greatest story ever told, but...
As you can imagine, I failed the assignment. I was openly ridiculed in front of the entire class. In fact, I was kept in class during recess, forced to rewrite the essay according to my Catholic teachings, aware of the torn shreds of my story in the wastebasket.
At home, I wrote the essay my way, and it turned into a 1000 words mini-saga. This time, Freddy and I took our teacher, Señorita Rosa, with us, but the Romans caught her and fed her to the Lions at the Colosseum.
I prayed for forgiveness that night before bed, and fell asleep with a grin. I'd never felt so empowered. Hey, I even gave my mother back the title of Greatest Storyteller.
The Christmas Night Adventure remained hidden beneath my math papers in the drawer of my desk. I feared Mom's reaction at the demise of Señorita Rosa, but I didn't have to wait long for a reaction to another piece of writing. Not when the entire experience changed my life forever...
to be continued...
What was the first time you felt empowered by words you wrote?
I feel Senorita Rosa had it easy after all :)Lovely post, Javier.
ReplyDeleteThe woman was a tyrant!
DeleteExcellent post, my friend. It's all about experiences. For me, I was always writing stories as a child. I'm the youngest of ten kids, and my oldest brother would bring my stories to his university friends. They couldn't believe it when they told him they were written by a ten-year-old. I never knew any of this, but years later he related this to me. That was my first recollection of feeling that writing was something that really held a place in my heart.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great feeling to get an audience at any level. You were clearly destined to write and I hope your audience numbers in the millions in the future
DeleteGreat post and pictures too! I remember I was 12 when I got into reading the Sweet Valley High books, but then I saw my mom reading a book with a haunted looking girl on the cover. It was a V.C. Andrews novel. The minute she was done I grabbed it and started reading. I was hooked and had to read all of that author's books. But it was that first one that made me feel like maybe I could also entertain people with my imagination. I started writing and discovered it made me experience the same excitement I did when I read books. I have been compelled to write ever since.
ReplyDeleteWriting indeed gives us full control of our little universes and we have to give credit to those who inspired us to write. V.C. Andrews is so perfect to be yours.
DeleteSometimes, anything is better than real life. As writers, it's not only a thrill to create, but often, it's also a welcome release. Loved this post.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, it's all about the release.
DeleteLOL! That is so endearing. How dare that teacher not give you an A! :)
ReplyDeleteI know! I did manage to get the highest grade in the class (19/20) after writing insipid Christian stories though Freddy and I starred in the hidden chronicles I would go on to get in trouble for in sixth grade.
ReplyDelete