“Writing is [a reflection] of me being able to understand the world around me.”

Natalie Gong: “One thing that I’ve always enjoyed doing is writing or generally just making stories. Early in elementary school, I would cut up pieces of printer paper and make these little booklets, and then I would kinda be a picture book author. Then, in fourth or fifth grade I upgraded to Google Docs. In middle school, I discovered that I really like writing poetry so I have a lot of that awkward middle school poetry. When I was younger and I had less homework, it was a way to pass time and just express myself creatively. In middle school, it was a lot of escapism. I like to think me enjoying writing is reflecting of me being able to understand the world around me and the people around me.”