PG-13: A Love Story

I sat down on the couch with my dad watching some movie on tv. It was 9 o’clock at night. Any 8 year old would love being up past their bedtimes. Little did I know, my life would change forever. My dad as a child watched the original War of the Worlds, so when he saw the the remake of it, he was intrigued, forgetting that a young impressionable child with a vivid imagination sat next to him. It’s a movie about wars between earth and different worlds around us. I felt so cool, because I was 8 and this movie was rated PG-13. The story line built with aliens, humans, and giant robot machines. My mind was at work anticipating what each new scene would bring. The vivid reality of this movie was manifest with a scene of carnage, and blood. Fear

shocked my whole being. This scene burned into my mind so powerfully that it can only be described in one world, blood. The scene was a man crawling out of a house after his daughter got kidnapped by the aliens. As he left the safety of the house, his eyes scanned the scene, which to my 8 year old mind looked like rolling hills of blood. From the safety of my blanket screen, which I held almost up to my eyes, I saw what I were robots filled with people. In one of the robots, was the daughter, she stone faced with all the other people around her crying hysterically. These scene were terrifying to me. I didn’t make any noise, or let my dad know that I was sitting on the couch watching it with him. The anticipation of the movie was growing within me, then he shut the movie off. Excuse me? My dad stood up and finally noticed me sitting next to him. “Bed time” He said and dragged me up the stairs to the dark bedroom. My heart was pounding in my little 8 year old chest. My dad tucked me into bed, telling me “Rebecca, nothing is going to hurt you. It’s not real.” Darkness engulfed me when my family went off to bed. I close my eyes tightly, thinking that if I don’t open my eyes then I won’t see it. After a couple of long dreary hours, I open my eyes seeing the rolling hills of blood all around me. My heart started to race again. I let out the loudest scream that had ever left my body at 8 years old, rushing from my bed, next door to my parents bedroom. I crawl into their bed, staying with them every night for the next week.
I have what you called an overactive imagination. Overactive imagination is a personality trait where a person experiences a lifelong involvement in a fantasy and has the ability to see it come to life through their imagination. For example, I would read these horror books and at night I can imagine them on the walls of my room and in my dreams.
What does any of this have to do with what I want to be when I grow up? Everything. I’ve grown up reading different fantasy stories. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Lord of the Rings, etc. I have learned to love different worlds between all the authors. So that’s what I want to do. I want to be able to tell stories to different people and show them a bit of my mind. I was scared at first at how I could do this. School has been hard growing up, due to bullying, math, and all the drama in between. I didn't know if I wanted to go to college until this year. I decided that I would like to attend BYU-Idaho. Being LDS, or part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, this school is going to let me grow in my church as well as get a degree in Creative Writing.
Going on to the BYU-Idaho website, I have started to go through the process of applying to the school. Somethings that are yet to be finished is that I have to have a interview with my Bishop, the man over my congregation, and a interview with my Stake President, the man over my district. After I have those done, I get to have a long and tedious wait until they send back if you get in or not. I will be majoring Creative Writing. This is what the Department of English on the BYU-Idaho webpage says about Creative Writing, “The BYU-Idaho English department offers three creative writing courses-English 218, 318R, and 418R…. In these courses, students write poetry, fiction, and/or creative non-fiction. Occasionally, courses are offered in writing dramas, screenplays, and children's and young adult literature.” This sounds like so much fun to me because I get to really be myself. My goals is to graduate college with a Bachelor's Degree in creative writing. I have many different ways I can use this degree in my life.
When I was younger, my parents had a far from perfect marriage, yet they loved each other, my brothers, and I. Being LDS, my family is sealed together forever. They will be my family no matter what, even after death. When I get married that is what I would like to do. “Life's greatest joys are found in the family. Strong family relationships require effort, but such effort brings great happiness in this life and throughout eternity. In our Heavenly Father's plan of happiness, a man and a woman can be sealed to one another for time and all eternity. Those who are sealed in the temple have the assurance that their relationship will continue forever if they are true to their covenants. They know that nothing, not even death, can permanently separate them” (97,True to the Faith). This is something that I think about often, because marriage is the one thing that I really want to have in my life. I love little children and one of my goals is to become a mother and supporting wife. I would like to have at least 4 children. I don’t really care about gender. I just want them all.
As I imagine my life with my husband and small children, I can see opportunities to use my Creative Writing degree to help support my family. I would love to write books. I remember growing thinking about different characters and wanting to make them come true, but got scared about it. I decided to interview Annette Mackey. She is a award winning author and has written two musicals that were performed in Boise. She’s also my choir teacher.She given me great advice when it comes to writing books. She said “Everybody's a critic, you just can’t let it hurt you. Sometimes the critics is wrong. Sometimes they are right, but they are wrong too. Don’t let it get to you.” This is some of the best advice that I could ever get from someone. Especially since I want to go out and write books. I greatly appreciate the advice she has given me. It gives me a positive outlook as I pursue the daunting task of the book writing process. Writing is a very long and complicated process. Yet, that’s why I love it. I have no deadline to meet. It's all up to me.
Now I go through a lot of ‘what if this happens’ thoughts. For example, what if when I get married my husband can’t provide for my family. I have determined that I have a preference of age to teach. So I would like to teach high school level English.To persue this, you have have at the very least have a bachlors degree in a school subject and you have to do some student teaching. “Those who intend to teach in public schools must be licensed or certified. Certification typically follows grade level, with separate licenses for preschool through third grade, first through sixth (or first through eighth) and seventh through twelfth. Regulations vary from state to state, though, so it is crucial that prospective teachers check their home state’s specific rules”(How to Become a Teacher: Teaching Degrees and Careers). My hope is to teach in my home state of Idaho.
Albert Einstein once said, “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” I have had many teachers that have taught me in this way.

When I was in 8th grade I had to give a speech in my english class. My teacher refused to let me not do it, even if I was crying. She told me that I could do it and that everything will be ok. She gave me confidence. When I was in 9th grade, my choir teacher told all of us were special in our own ways, but if you come together in a group, you will come stronger in numbers. In 11th grade a new scary choir teacher taught me that you don’t have to feel alone even if you go to a new and scary place. My teachers have taught me life lessons over and over again. I want to help for those who are younger than me. I have had a taste of doing this through my church, by mentoring girls younger than me, in music, in teaching leadership skills, and in instruction. It brings me great joy when I can see the spark of knowledge come into someone's eyes.
Though the experiences I have had with working with younger children I have come to love the teaching profession. I love seeing when people understand knowledge that they need to know for their later lives. This something that I have wanted to do since I was in 1st

grade.
C.S. Lewis once said, “The task for the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.” In my future, my educational goals will help me to become a person who fosters creativity, a teacher who inspires and up lifts, and a mother who will teach her children to open their minds to the world of words, thoughts, and ideas. I want to be as C.S. Lewis said. I want to irrigate deserts.