A Love Letter to Jo March

Dear Joe March,

Thank you for awakening the writer within me.  

I received a copy of Little Women when I was about thirteen years old. At the time, writing was nothing more than a tool to express my musings about my family, friendships, and ever-changing emotions. But when I traced the white pages of your world- dare I say your very own life—I was fascinated by your fiery spirit and determined disposition. Seeing a young girl be inquisitive and passionate about something as amazing as writing made me want to pick up the pen and paper and start writing stories, not for academic purposes, but for myself. Admittedly, at the time, I did not feel I could ever write stories and create complex characters and worlds. But as I kept exploring your world through the pages of Louisa May Alcott's words, I felt inspired by your inner drive to follow your dreams of becoming a writer all the way to New York. I saw your worries, your doubts, and your fears test your spirit, yet you continuously prevailed. That made me feel as if I was capable enough to nurture my passion for writing. I started small, a few paragraphs a day, with no prompt, no guidelines, just my creativity, and my emotions. Soon enough, those small paragraphs turned into stories that I would end up scrapping in fear someone would read them, ashamed of my words and my stories because I was not only writing in a tongue that was not my own, but I also felt as if my stories were too juvenile, and too simple as if I couldn't quite express all the complex ideas that I would concoct in my mind. It wasn't until my sophomore year in high school that I was encouraged to write and think critically about the works I read that I felt more comfortable with how I could bend the words of the English language to create and convey thoughtful ideas and concepts in my writing. During my junior year of high school, I decided to challenge myself, just like you did - as you attempted to become a writer- by choosing to embark on the challenge of taking an advanced placement class, where I learned to approach writing in a logical and formulaic way, which was most definitely a challenge for me. Yet, I prevailed and felt more confident about my ability to write narratives, create arguments, and analyze historical texts. As a current senior, I am currently taking a creative writing class, where I get to become the master of my own universe, the creator of both order and chaos within my stories. The more I write these stories, the more I think about you, Jo March, the "Little Woman," who inspired me to write stories that intrigue and fascinate me to no end. Once again, thank you for awakening my love for writing and inspiring generations of strong-headed dreamers like me and you who are unafraid to fight for their stories and voices.