The following e-mail message I received reminds teachers everywhere what flames their passion for teaching and keeps them publishing student work.
I received the book just fine, and it now rests in its proper honored place on my shelf with a leather bookmark at my first published work. I show it off with pride and reverence.
It’s been about 12 years since that story was published, and I still remember the giddiness that I felt when I received word that it was one of the ones chosen to be in your book, Treasures 2. It was the first proof that I had genuine writing talent. My teachers, parents, and peers had praised my work, but seeing my own words in print somehow made it all real. It gave me the confidence I needed to continue writing and exploring my abilities. Since that time, I have written about 15 stories, 43 poems, 4 songs, 72 miscellaneous papers, and have 22 more stories in various stages of completion. Right now I am working on a series of novels and a special internet-based, multi-authored book project.
Although I have not tried to get published again since that first success, I know thanks to you that I have what it takes, so I can focus on my own creativity and not whether my work is ‘good enough’ or not. It has made a great deal of difference in my life and will continue to for as long as I still live and write. I can’t imagine myself without my writing, and don’t think I would have kept the desire to write in my heart so strongly had it not been for your Treasures project and my success with it.
Your efforts in bringing the voices of the children out to be heard in your books have played a tremendous part in the shaping of my own life. With the exception of my parents, I can think of no one whose actions have had a more dramatic affect on my growth. And for someone that I’ve never met, I owe you a great deal. Thank you, Chris. Because of you, I am who I am today.
Esteem’d Regards,
Aaron Ward
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