We asked this year’s High School Writing Contest winners to tell us more about their writing process. Here is Isabella Stenvall’s response.
Writing has been my source of expression since I was quite young. I devoured as many books as I could obtain and created a love for words and patterns that communicated my ideas. I have always been quite creative, thriving in my own imagination. Writing allowed me to take my introspective world and share it with those around me.
I can be inspired to write by practically anything. More frequently I take strong emotions or influential experiences and turn them into narratives that help me understand what has taken place. Other times I write to capture a memory or time, in fact every day for the past three years I have been recording every day of my life for future recollection. This includes small conversations, defining moments, immature comments, silly jokes. Writing stories protects some of the brightest and darkest days of my life.
Knowing that I won an award for “Wars with Numbers” brings me immense joy. The piece describes my painful battle with anorexia and first steps to recovery. It is incredible that my work was read and recognized, especially a narrative that was somewhat difficult to allow myself to send in.
After high school I hope to travel from my small California town to a university in an East Coast big city. My dream is to be accepted to Columbia University, located in my favorite city in the world providing me an opportunity to continue my life-long passion for dancing and receive an exceptional Ivy League education. I want to explore courses in international peace relations and possibly travel the world working as a diplomat.
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Isabella Stenvall is a seventeen year old contemporary dancer from California who fosters an intense love for ocean-swimming, alt-j, and chocolate-covered strawberries. She won the local’s prize for her non-fiction piece on anorexia, Wars With Numbers.