Fourth grade was my last year of elementary school. My class was the "coolest" class in the 3rd and 4th-grade hallway. We had the biggest classroom, with the best lockers and the longest recess. When we crossed the gymnasium, which leads to the middle school building, our king of the jungle mindset disappeared. We were struck with the disappointment of being the youngest and "uncoolest" class, as we liked to say. The middle schoolers were so tall and organized, or so we thought. We believed they knew exactly what they were doing with their lives and what they wanted to do when they grew up. If only I, and the rest of my peers, had known that that could not be any further from the truth. I didn't realize it then, but I did not know anything about myself in fourth grade. I hadn't discovered my true passions that made me happy or what I was talented at. There was so much for me to learn, and I believed I had it all figured out. If I could go back in time and tell myself what I know now, I would never do it. Whether they be successes or failures, my experiences shaped me to be the person I am today. Little did I know fourth grade would be the year I would discover one of my true passions.

          The day was like any other school day. I turned off my alarm clock and

rolled over onto another pillow with a sigh. With a sudden flash of light, I turned

my head to see my mom had torn open the drapes in my room. After my parents

discovered that I didn't respond well to bright light in the morning, it became

their favorite method to wake me up. I laid there for a moment letting my eyes

adjust to the sudden brightness in my room. After getting dressed and ready, I

made my way to the kitchen to eat breakfast; Eggo Waffles were always my

breakfast item of choice. I then packed my bag and got into the car. 

          When I arrived at class that day, my teacher had moved our desks around, so they all faced each other in a circle formation. When everyone reached their seats, she put blank white books on our desks. She walked to the middle of the circle and began telling us about our upcoming project. 

          She explained that we were all going to write books as well as draw illustrations. We had two weeks to complete the task so we could share our work with the class. There was so much excitement throughout the classroom. I too was excited, but nervous as well. I had never written a story before, and I would have to share my work with the class.

          Our homework for that night was to brainstorm ideas for our stories. When I arrived home, I went to my room and began the brainstorming process. The process ended quickly due to the lack of ideas I was able to brainstorm. I went to the only place I knew could offer any assistance with my dilemma, my bookshelf. My bookshelf mainly consisted of the Geronimo Stilton series, all the books from A series of Unfortunate Events, and every Nancy Drew book. I tried scanning the pages of books I had already read for inspiration but was met with disappointment. I wanted to create an original story, not something similar to the stories I loved. As I was about to leave, I happened upon a book my aunt had just given to me, ttfn by Lauren Myracle. I decided to read a little bit with hopes that I would feel inspired. As I read the book, I happened upon the line, "You should eat a waffle! You can't be sad if you eat a waffle!" I stared blankly at the words I had just read. At that moment, I had

never felt more inspired in my whole life. This book had given me all the information I

could have ever asked for. I needed to walk to my kitchen, eat some waffles and create an

outline for a story all about waffles. 

          I popped two Eggo Waffles in the toaster and got my notebook and pencil out. As I

sat at my kitchen table savoring every bite of my favorite food, ideas began flooding in. I

had the main ideas, characters, and setting. As I reached the end of my brainstorming

activity, it was clear that the story would be a comical mystery about an incriminating

waffle heist. Grand Theft Waffle, North, East, South, and West: Why you should never eat

soggy waffles, and The Waffle Mystery were my first ideas for a title. I left my kitchen table with pride as I had just created an original idea for my first story.

          The next day I arrived in class with so much excitement. I couldn't wait to tell my teacher all about my story. She came to everyone's desks and asked us general questions about our stories to make sure we had ideas. When she reached my desk, I had to calm myself down so I wouldn't talk loud enough for my classmates to hear the brilliant ideas I had. She agreed that my story was going to be amazing or something to that effect. After meeting with each of us, she gave us our homework for that night. We had to start a rough draft for our story. 

          The following week flew by. I had never been so eager to do homework before, and my parents were slightly concerned. I did not allow them to read or see anything I was creating; I felt that it would ruin the excellence of my story. I had finished my rough draft two days after it was assigned and received a good grade on it from my teacher. All I had to do was edit it and start writing and drawing in my book. 

After a week of working, I completed North, East, South, and West: Why you should never eat soggy waffles. I had practiced reading it aloud in my room the night before. I rehearsed when I

would dramatically pause for gasps or laughter from the audience.

I wanted to make sure that my hard work would pay off and my

classmates would enjoy my book. 

          That morning I was stressed, excited, anxious, happy, and

nervous. I was feeling so many things I wasn't sure what to do.

I got to school early so I could prepare a little more before

presenting my work. When it was finally time to present, the

teacher put us in alphabetical order according to our last names.

I had never been so grateful in my life that my last name started

with "Z." When it was finally my turn to present, and I was very

calm, well, at least on the outside. I walked to the front of the

class and began to read. I couldn't believe how many people were laughing at my book. At that moment, I truly felt like a comedic genius. I dramatically paused at the correct times allowing for laughter or gasps. To conclude my story, I looked out to the audience and dramatically said, "never eat soggy waffles," which turned my comical mystery into a melodramatic masterpiece. 

          The moral of this story is that inspiration can strike at any moment in your life. What I once thought would be a difficult project for school became a moment of self-discovery. Now ten years into my writing journey, I am reflecting on an event I once thought to be insignificant. I would never have guessed that a story about my love for waffles would become the first step on my writer's journey.