Daydreams by Zoe

Daydreams by Zoe - February 2024 Scholarship Essay

My dreams have always fascinated me. It’s like your own personal story. A story that most of the time we are destined to forget. Yet, despite knowing this we continue to try and remember them. To continue the dream where we left off. That’s what led me to start writing. I wanted to continue dreaming while also assuring myself that it wouldn’t be lost to the subconscious of my mind. I began keeping a dream journal in my notes app, keeping my insane and sometimes complete nonsense dreams and nightmares safe. It allowed for my creativity and imagination to grow as I grew. I wrote stories at home and school during free writing. Those times were the times I felt the most at ease. Those were the times when I had full control of a world or scenario.

As I got older, into my teenage years, I delved into fan fiction, yet it was more than just changing an ending I didn’t like. I used the characters from the books and television shows I was interested in and gave them a whole new storyline, or I used their characters as a reference or starting point for an original story I was making. When I finished a chapter or two, I began to post my stories online, gaining praise from friends, family, and online strangers. It allowed me to get feedback, to improve, until I realized how much I’ve enjoyed writing and creating stories since I was a little kid. I’ve always been a daydreamer. A hopeless romantic. A person who creates scenarios from almost nothing, so why did it take me so long to realize I wanted to pursue writing? I think the reason is because I associated it with dreams, yet now I can see how that makes it a better career and major for me than the ones I thought of before.

I used to think I’d be a teacher, a baker, an architect, an interior designer. They all had their interest, but they never made me feel as content and at peace as writing does. They don’t bring me the same pride I feel when someone compliments me on a poem or short story. They were never embedded so deeply into my subconscious mind that they kept purposely popping up in my dreams time after time.

I was inspired to pursue writing by my mother’s critiques and praises. By my English teacher’s semester-long classes. By the complex villains, that always fascinated me more. By free write Fridays in sixth grade. By my own random and crazy thoughts.