ayla's allegories …..and adorable art

Nearly a decade ago a young girl read a book about another young girl who had dreams of becoming a newspaper reporter. In the book, the young girl produced a family newspaper. With her camera she took pictures which she included in her newspaper. This tale inspired the young reader to start her own family newspaper.  For about a year the girl made a newspaper for her family every week and even included photos she had taken with the camera she had received from her parents. She brought the camera everywhere she went, including to her family reunion where she photographed her relatives. This was the first time she had been to a reunion in a long time and she knew very few people.  Normally timid and quiet, behind the camera she was brave and confident, and she learned that meeting new people was less scary than she had previously thought.

Upon arriving home and reviewing the photos she had taken, she, with the encouragement of her parents, entered some of her photos into a competition at the county fair. Her pictures did exceedingly well and she learned it wasn’t so scary to highlight her abilities in the public.

A few years later, now more fully grown but still in her youth, she received an unexpected phone call.  The caller was a board member of a club to which the girl belonged and explained that the club was in desperate need of a replacement newsletter editor for the upcoming year. The girl, knowing she had the skills required because of her experience making a family newspaper, agreed to the request and accepted the position. As the newsletter editor, the girl learned that meeting deadlines and maintaining professionalism was quite satisfying.

Looking back, now as a young woman anticipating college, she realizes the book was a bigger influence than she realized. Reading the book had inspired her to develop skills and confidence. What seemed to be a simple choice of a young girl lead to profound self-discovery.