Ismael Rodriguez Jr.

Roughly after the 9/11 tragedy, my fifth grade teacher had us sit down and type a story of our choosing. She thought it would help us express our feelings about the current state of our country.

I sat down on a computer to the far right of the classroom, hacking away at the keyboard for the better part of two hours before recess.

The teacher pulled me aside a few days later, encouraging me to pursue writing as a vehicle to tell stories before asking for my permission to hang the story on a wall behind her desk.

What did I write? I wrote about a young boy lost in the woods, searching for a way out of the wilderness. Along the way, he stumbled into a rabbit hole that sent him back in time. He would warn authorities of the terrorist attack, and the tragedy would never come to fruition.

I haven't stopped trying to tell stories since then. There's a satisfaction in capturing the essence of people and their narratives.

I write because it allows me to dissect lives and their situations in a way that leads me to understand our world a little bit better.