Introduction Letter

Dear English 100,

My name is Elena Kay, and my motto in life is, “Carpe Diem,” or, “Seize the Day.” This isn’t something I do very well, which is why it’s my motto. I keep this in mind to remember to be who I am and stop worrying about the future or the past. I came to college to make every day new and productive. I like the feeling that everything I do during my day is working toward a nursing major.
I didn’t always want to be a nurse. For years I wanted to be a writer. Writing comes to me like sleeping. Sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it’s easy, and sometimes it comes at the wrong time., but it’s something you do every day that makes you feel better. I started writing very young, about the time that I learned to string two sentences together. I’m not an anything-goes writer. I write stories, not poetry or papers. Writing is my way of letting things in my life go or of slipping into another life for awhile.
Writing and reading go hand in hand for me. I don’t go more than a few days without picking up a book. Reading is very therapeutic. It helps me see things in a new light by letting me step into someone else’s shoes. As a writer, I need to read to expand my ideas and to see what’s already out there. A single sentence has proved to spark the idea for multiple stories. I could not write without reading.
Writing and reading are like breathing to me. I wish I could make a living writing, but the truth is, I’d like to have a stable future, and being a writer depends on so much more than your skill and what you want. I chose nursing because it helps people, it’s needed, and there’s stability in nursing as a career. I like all of those things. Writing will still be a part of my life, even when I’m working twelve hour shifts in the emergency room. I also know that writing grows with the writer, and all the experiences I have will help me become a better writer, even if those experiences aren’t English and Creative Writing courses.
So even while I’m taking biology and anatomy, I’ll be writing as often as I can, trying to fulfill my life-long dream of being published and recognized for it. Each new day of college and each new day of my career will bring me closer to that dream. If I don’t get published, at least I will have spent those hours doing something I love, and if I do, maybe I will end up as a full time writer. For now, I’m just taking each day as it comes and keeping my goals in mind.
Sincerely,
Elena Kay