What Would You Be...?, by Vivien Lee

What Would You Be...?

empowering women, families, and youth-at-risk through improved literacy, increased positive media, and tools for living.

By Vivien Lee 2011

I don’t think I have realized how realistic life becomes as one ages through the years. Already, it is clear that my goals have become focused in comparison to my endless fantasies in kindergarten. How rational life is. I always dismissed the possibility of making a living out of art—at least for me. There is such an infinitesimal chance of success as a musician; the stars we so admire were born with exceptional talent and unbelievable luck. It wasn’t until I met creative writing that I began to waiver in my assertions. Language is something that takes time to cultivate and personalize, but in the end it is about expressing in ways that can touch the heart. Even now, as I reach into my daydream of becoming an author, I have a story that has been waiting to come out. I want my story to reach critical acclaim and the love of the public. I want to be controversial and I want to cause debate. I want my novel to be a puzzle. “What could she have meant by this line?” “What is her use of symbolism here?” “Why did she use that particular characterization?” How exciting is it for a reader to have a personal interpretation of a story that I have written? It is wonderful to think that money will not be a problem and that failure is out of question, but being a rationalist, such thoughts cannot permeate completely into my head. However, despite my pessimism, I have started on my book. Fourteen times. Once the last words of my final chapter are printed and published, the power of writers which I have so envied will be mine to taste. The power to influence generation after generation…. It is a provoking thought indeed.

Vivien Lee is the event coordinator and teen chairperson for Be the Star You Are! Charity who loves to sing arias, write poetry, and collect quirky knowledge from books!