Creative Writing?

As a youth, my first memorable writing creation was a Thanksgiving poem. I was in second grade and our homework assignment was to write a poem over the weekend. I don't remember if the teacher told us how to write a poem, but I do remember the burden I felt knowing I would need to write a poem by the next Monday.

I tried and tried to come up with a poem but couldn't think of words that rhymed. My dad came to the rescue. He had written all kinds of stories and poems in his life (and still does). I remember, he told me about rhyming words.

It seemed like magic. And Monday morning, I had a poem to take back to school.

Sometimes, parents come in handy. (Thanks, Dad.) Sure it was probably more dad than daughter which  happens (in my experience as a parent) with 95% of homework projects, but it was a great poem.

I wish I had a copy of it.

The second thing I wrote was a play...actually several plays later in grade school. My classmates performed some of them as skits for the entire school.  That was fun.

That year, I wrote a three-act play about teenage love. (Thanks, Mom for keeping it for me--I think.) Never mind, that I hadn't experienced true love. Love to me at that age meant making sure I had a boyfriend, bossing him, and making sure he bought me things. (Don't be judging that tiny girl!) Never mind, that I wasn't a teenager. Never mind that the characters just happened to have the same names as my friends and myself.

Play title: Teen-agers of To-day

Act I Getting ready for the Ball
Act II Going to the Ball
Act III Going home from the Ball

First line: Ding Ding (phone ringing), second line: Hello. Last line:  Kenny says, Well let's get married.

Oh, and I might have been the star of that play or someone with the same name. It's a possibility.

I knew all the way in second grade that I loved writing. When did you fall in love with your creative side? What was the first thing you wrote, painted, crocheted, knitted or (fill in the blank).