Ah, a nostalgic story for a… belated throwback Thursday.

And, just so you know now, I sadly do not have the physical story in my hands or anywhere… well, anywhere. I’m pretty sure the papers I actually wrote the story on got thrown away long ago. Or maybe recycled… who knows.

But, anyway, I still have the vague memories!

So… let me set up the scene for you.

I was in 1st grade, 6 years old, spelled ‘should’ like ‘shuwd’ every time, and… it was our class’s first writing workshop! Exciting, right? And I had never actually even tried writing before… but, of course, everything new sounds like a blast to a 6 year old girl. Plus, I figured, since I loved making up stories every night that I played with my Barbies, there was a good chance I could maybe have had a knack for writing stories.

And boy, was I right.

So, I wrote a story. And, pulling just from my vague memory, I remember it being about a group of princesses on a quest. I was obsessed with Disney movies when I was younger, so, I mean, of course I wrote a story about Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty going on an adventure to find some lost book in the depths of a sketchy cave. (That was actually what happened, too, by the way.)

And I’m sure my spelling and handwriting was absolutely horrendous… (it still is, honestly) but the plot and story development was insanely incredible! And the pictures I drew to go along with it were probably pretty okay, too.

Now, here’s the part that I really remember. Like, vividly.

My story was long. So long, in fact, that when it came time to share what we had each written with the class… my story took the longest. Out of everyone.

I remember reading my story in the rocking chair in the corner of the classroom with everyone sitting on the carpet in front of me… and I was going so strong… for I don’t even know how long… until my teacher stopped me. She stopped me only halfway through, because I was taking so much time. And then I was confused, because, I mean, I wasn’t done yet, but she told me we didn’t have enough time left, and I could finish reading it the next day.

When it actually came time for me to finish reading the next day, though… I remember that I actually skipped a few pages, on purpose, because I didn’t want to take so long again. Yeah, that’s how long the story was… I skipped a few pages, and I still ran out of time.

I’m not kidding; I really did run out of time two days in a row. When my teacher stopped me the second time, though, I decided to just offer to skip ahead and read the ending. How nice of me, right?

And guess what the ending was?

It was all just a dream. Like, the princesses were having a sleepover and they all dreamt the same dream. And, right at the climax of the story, when they were faced with a dangerous dragon and no way to escape the cave, they all just woke up from their dream.

Yeah, a real disappointment, probably.

But, anyway, that was the first story I ever wrote in all its glory. It definitely wasn’t the grandest of stories or, thankfully, the best thing I’ve ever written or anything… but, it was where I officially got my start. And I’ll never forget it.

So… do you remember your first story?

-iKari