I graduated from the University of Central Florida, and while there, I fell in love with the written word after taking a creative writing course as an elective.

In fact, I changed my major from Art Design and Drawing to English because of it. I will always love art, but I'm fascinated by language and it's power to create the world we see before us. While in college, I taught the craft of poetry to teens in foster care and halfway houses, and even adults at homeless shelters.

These...