💌 From My Memory Box: The Friend Who Could Write Stories When I Couldn’t

When I was about ten, I went to a little youth group on Wednesday evenings. Among the chatter and squash cups and glitter glue, there was a girl who could do something I desperately wished I could — she could write stories.

She’d sit with her notebook, pencil flying, and somehow the ideas in her head actually made it onto paper. I remember watching her and thinking how? Because in my head, I had whole worlds too — characters who talked to me, scenes that played like films — but the moment I tried to write them down, they vanished.

Back then, I thought that meant I wasn’t a writer. That maybe the stories in my head didn’t count if I couldn’t prove them in ink. Looking back now, I realise I was a writer all along — I just hadn’t found my confidence yet, or my way of translating magic into words.

I sometimes think of that girl and wonder if she still writes. I hope she does. In her quiet way, she showed me what was possible — that stories can live outside your head. And now, every time I fill a page, I think: ten-year-old me would be proud. 💖

Filed under: From My Memory Box, Writing Journey, 00s Nostalgia