The Courage to Write

After a family backpacking trip to North Carolina, I wrote a poem for my eighth-grade English class.

Little did I know that Mom submitted my work to a Florida Poetry Contest.

The letter below arrived in our mailbox months later; Mom said she had a surprise for me.

I was dumbfounded. 

And totally grateful.

Thanks, Mom! You gave me the courage to write and put my essays out into the world.

I love you!

Dee