Maybe all I wanted was significance. To be a Teacher’s Pet for the Day. I have never been, you see. And, I didn’t know how to be one. I was clearly not the smartest or most popular student in class, like Anna or Abigail. My parents didn’t visit the school or give Christmas and birthday gifts to my teachers, like the moms and dads of Jenny and Grace.
But one Valentine’s-cum-Teacher’s-Day, I found myself scribbling an appreciation poem for my grade four homeroom advisor and English teacher, Ms. Nelia Jose. …

A writer’s life is a frustrating life — so why do we keep at it?
Write a short personal essay about “What Keeps Me Going,” and send it over so the rest of us can relate.
A writer’s life is not only frustrating and full of rejection, it is lonely.
I have been writing for a little over a year, and for the first time in my 55 years, I feel my dad is really proud of me.
I have a 2-page published story in an anthology, and I recently won a …