JESSICA FEELS
Here's my Spiel
I grew up at the end of a gravel road on the outskirts of Conway, Arkansas, riding my bike up the hill and careening back down while listening to the dirt and pebbles crack under the wheels. I was free back then, like many of us are before the world gets its claws in us.
I wrote my first short story in the third grade, and I enjoyed it so much I decided I was going to be a writer. Naturally, I took some detours along the way, dedicating almost ten years to service in the United States Marines, trying my hand at marriage a couple of times, and bouncing around from one unfulfilling job to the next. I trapped myself behind the stories I wasn't telling and wondered if I would ever feel like that little girl who sped downhill on low tires and shaky handlebars.
As a graduate student working toward my Master of Arts in Professional and Technical Writing, I dug up some stories that long ago burrowed deep into my subconscious and paralyzed me in a way. Telling my stories freed me, and here sits the little girl on the bike - only now, I'm writing about it instead of riding on it.
I'll never stop telling my stories, and I'd love to help you tell yours.