The Seed Keeps Growing

Three years after my first book was published, in June of 2023, I finished junior high school. I was older, I had experienced more, and I had learned so much since I was that ten-year-old girl sitting at the kitchen table dreaming up my first book.

And I knew I wasn’t finished.

I wanted to write another one.

This time, I wanted to create a Junior High Edition of Strong, Bold, and Courageous—a book that spoke to kids who were navigating the very things I had just experienced myself.

So, once again, my mom and I set out on a writing adventure together.

We had the entire summer ahead of us, and we gave ourselves one big goal: finish the manuscript before the first school bells rang.

And somehow…we did it.

But writing this book was completely different from writing my first. My first book had started with a simple idea and the perspective of a ten-year-old girl. This time, I was writing from a much deeper place. I had three more years of experiences, lessons, friendships, challenges, mistakes, growth, and life behind me.

I had more to say.

And saying it well took work.

Once the manuscript was finished, the real whirlwind began. There were weeks of editing, formatting, research, and rewriting. We worked with an incredible artist to bring my vision for the cover to life. We put together a launch team filled with people who believed in my message and wanted to help me share it with the world.

There were exciting moments.

There were frustrating moments.

There were definitely moments when I wondered if we were ever going to finish.

But we kept going.

From the first words on the page to the final published book, the entire process took about 24 weeks. 11 weeks of writing. 8 weeks of cover design. 6 weeks of editing.

And then there were all the things that don't fit neatly into a timeline—endless research, thousands of words, countless conversations, creative ideas, second-guessing, laughter, frustration, and more pep talks than I could possibly count.

On November 23, 2023, Strong, Bold, and Courageous: Junior High Edition officially launched.

And I remember feeling so proud.

Not just because I had written another book, but because I had grown into the person who could write it. The first book taught me that I had a voice. The second taught me how to use that voice with greater purpose.

I began to understand that writing isn't just about putting words on a page. It's about being willing to share what you've learned in the hope that someone else might feel a little less alone, a little more understood, or a little more courageous because of it.

That was the lesson I was learning as my seed continued to grow.

I also learned that having a purpose doesn't mean the journey will always feel easy. Sometimes purpose comes with uncertainty. Sometimes you have to keep going when you're tired, frustrated, or unsure of yourself.

But when you believe in why you're doing something, you find a reason to keep moving forward. Looking back now, I can see how every part of this journey was preparing me for what came next.

The little seed planted when I was ten years old was becoming something bigger.

And I was becoming someone who understood that my age didn't determine the impact I could make.

My story was still being written.

And so was the mission.

To encourage other young people, one book at a time.

The seed was growing.

And I was just getting started.