I remember the day I discovered Teen Ink quite distinctly. My school had offered a free period for avid writers to produce feedback, interact, and most importantly, write. It felt strangely exhilarating to sit calmly and quietly in a room with these people and stare at our computer screens as we typed away.

It so happened that I was contemplating my writing while one of my peers was browsing her Teen Ink profile. As I zoned off, I subconsciously registered her submitting an article and was immediately intrigued. After the session, I asked her what the site was and she introduced me to Teen Ink.

It was love at first sight. Here was yet another community of writers who luxuriated in the freedom of the art of writing just like me. With ideas for submissions crowding my mind, I signed up after my parents gave me vital encouragement and took the first step of my Teen Ink journey.

Soon enough, I was presenting my favorite pieces to Teen Ink in the hopes that they would be approved and published on the site. I was not disappointed.

My first submission was a short story called "Set Free by the Rest". I was stunned when I received a notification that it had been selected for 'Editor's choice'. I was hooked, especially when my fellow community members started to read, rate, and even comment on the article. In this fashion, I had realized something critical during adolescence. People DID care what you thought about the world and its strange ways.

I released another piece called "Fate Deciders". It too was met with an 'Editor's choice', plenty of readers, ratings, and a much-appreciated comment. Again, I was struck by the fact that people were interested in the lamentings of a regular teenage girl.

Two poems followed, one of which received yet another 'Editor's choice'. That poem remains my most read piece, and I was too thankful to describe.

Since then, I have submitted more of my work and have been more grateful for the positive feedback and constructive criticism than anything. Teen Ink has been a way to channel my opinions and thoughts to a network of writers who are in the same boat as I am.

I like to think that this boat is traveling the chaotic waves of our teenage years and that we will one day emerge, victorious, from the riptide of adulthood. It feels like we're blindfolded passengers, because I never seem to see that my peers are experiencing exactly what I am. And yet, I can most definitely hear the frightened voices. By the end of the terrifying ride, your blindfold is torn off and you realize that everyone was there all along.

Teen Ink has supplied me with those comforting voices. Thank you for that.