By Scotlyn McConnell
Whenever I was younger, I would make up stories about my cat and the adventures he would go on when we weren’t in the house. His name was Spidey because he would scale the chimney, and in my stories he would climb up and out of the chimney and then go exploring. These were very exciting stories for a six-year-old. I continued writing stories like this until I got my first computer around the age of 12.
At this point I discovered stories on the internet and the world of fanfiction. All of this sparked my phase of writing impossible stories about celebrities and fictional characters. I never thought there was a way for me to write in a professional sense until I was put in Mr. Walden’s seventh grade English class. Thanks to him, I learned that I was a good writer and with a little bit of practice, I could do something with my words. All of these things helped me to realize I love writing and this is what I want to do.
I suppose I should explain who I am and what I’m doing here. My name is Scotlyn McConnell, I’m 16 and I have gotten the opportunity to intern with Extol (!!!). As a part of my internship, I’ll write weekly column here on extolmag.com. Within this column, I’ll share my views about various social issues and things of that sort, and how they affect us locally, from a teenage point of view.
Now, I love Southern Indiana. I love Harvest Homecoming and Hubers and Quills Coffee. I also love the world. I love to learn about all of the happenings all over. I love to know about sexism in the Middle East or homophobia in our own country. I love being able to share these things with others. Sounds a bit depressing, doesn’t it? Let me explain. See, I believe that the more you know, the more you can do to change something.
I think I have a very different point of view when it comes to the world. My school, Community Montessori in New Albany, is very liberal in opinions, for the most part. However, my family usually leans toward the conservative side. So, I get the opportunity to be able to have discussions with people from both sides of the conversation, which I think helps me to come up with my own view on things.
I’ve been lucky enough to grow up around people who support individuality and welcome differing opinions with open arms. I’m so incredibly grateful for everything that I’ve been able to do and say. In another country, state or even school, I wouldn’t be able to speak out about things that bother me. Having a real platform to talk about things that interest me and being able to share that information with others is so exciting to me. I’m looking forward to writing here every week.
