I first started really writing poetry in ninth grade.  They had a poetry slam at my school, and I had some friends who were going so I checked it out.  It was so beautiful, the words they said and how they were said.  I started trying to write my own, which weren't that great.  In tenth grade they had another poetry slam, so I decided to try out.  I had been told the poem I was reading was good, but I knew I wasn't very comfortable with sharing my work, especially out loud.  April 23, 2015 I got up in front of 200+ people and read a poem.  I was shaking so badly, and I actually messed up when I was reading my poem.  The event was called "Speak For Your Self", and had been for the last several years.  I had created a hat that had the initials SFYS on it, and after I read, the announcer (a teacher at my school) came up and "showed off" the hat I had made (which made me even more nervous).  I didn't end up placing at all, but I will never forget that I faced several fears of mine: reading/talking in front of a big group of people and sharing my poetry.  The next year, I was in a creative writing class that truly changed my life.  It taught me how to get out of my comfort zone, how to share my poetry, and how to be creative.  The class was so tightly knit by the end; it was like we were a family.  We had blogs that we updated weekly, and slams monthly.  Mr. Nelson, the teacher, taught me that I want to be a teacher when I grow up and that I should share my creativity with others (rather than keep it to myself).