Let’s take a walk down memory lane for a moment. Imagine grade-school-aged Allie with a notebook. I think it was baby blue with sparkly flowers on it. I had a story in my head called “The Land of Animals” and it was all about a girl who entered a place filled with animals.

I wrote the story by hand and my mom helped me polish it up. By polishing it up, I mean she helped me realize some basic things like the fact that “Erin” is a girl name and “Aaron” is a boy name. Thanks, mom!

Childhood me, on the right! Hanging with my brother and sister.

I wish I still had that notebook. I had other notebooks throughout my life. Journals dated back to the early 2000s. Notebooks filled with collages from preteen magazines. Notebooks filled with ideas and dreams and heartaches. Stories written in college. (more…)