I first started writing when I was about 10 years old. I fell in love with poetry and literature and at some point it clicked that I should try my hand at it. In about 6th grade, there was some sort of a job fair and I just new instantaniously; this is what I have to do.  In about 8th grade, I wrote a college paper for my sister on the morality of the death penalty. She got an A and I recieved some invaluable feedback on my work from a strict college professor- it definately gave me confidence. So then, I decided to put my writing to the test, but I wasn't completely sure how to. I enlisted in multiple contests but they all turned out to be scams and nonsense. But in my junior Year of high school, I finally got my shot. A local college was holding a creative writing contest. I decided to submit a screenplay entitled "Small Game" and it won 3rd place. I know that this seems paltry, and I must admit for a moment I was quite disipointed in myself. I was the only kid from my high school that had won anything there, but third place didn't exactly make me cheer either. However, I was awarded 10 dollars in prize money. After I opened it and almost chuckled to myself at the amount, my creative writing teacher approached me and said "You've been paid for your work. Congratulations. You are a professional writer." It was one of the most proud moments in my life.  During my freshman year in high school, I was bullied quite severly by mostly just one bully. I eventually overcame the touture and in sophmore year made more friends. In my senior year, I was friends with just about everyone. But right around my graduation, there was an epidemic of suicides that struck our youth due to bullying. This was around the same time I was considering the topic for my first novel and it suddenly hit me like a rock. I had to tell my story so kids could see that it got better. So many celebrities at the time were making videos stating it got better, but rarely said what happened in between. I wrote "Inanimate Heroes" to fill that gap.