My first experience of wanting to read and write on a daily basis was in 7th grade when I was introduced to the app Wattpad. The app on its surface was nothing too special, only being made for people to be able to read and write books. Of course that’s what it was back in 2012 when I had first joined. Now it’s something more with writing contests being hosted, people being recognized and publishing books and getting movie deals or getting paid by Wattpad for the writing that they put up there; it’s really expanded into something amazing. Back in 2012, I had just made an account due to a recommendation from a friend. She was already reading books on there and she had told me I should read this one book which she had lent me her phone to skim over and I was really interested. I then made an account and it quickly became an addiction for me. I just wanted to read all the time. The books that people made on there were more interesting than any hardcover book I had ever picked up. I downloaded the app on my phone and was reading to and from school, in the middle of English class on the laptops we were given, at lunch and eventually I began to write too. My first-ever story, still incomplete to this day, was supposed to be a twist on “Romeo and Juliet” by Shakespeare and it essentially followed the plot that it was never the families that hated each other, but Romeo and Juliet did. Despite nobody actually reading my stories I wouldn’t get discouraged because it made me learn about myself as a writer. I was very descriptive when it came to writing my stories and would have pages just full of imagery. Somewhere along the line it helped me begin to do better when it came to my writing projects in class. If not for Wattpad I probably wouldn’t be at all interested in reading and writing like I am now nor would I be any good at it.
