As I sit here writing this article, I wonder if the stars themselves guided me to do so. The calling to write has always felt like an echo through time—I can’t recall when I first heard it. It feels like it’s always been there.
I entered my first poetry competition when I was in the infants and later took part in my primary school’s Inter-House poetry writing competition in Year 5. My school had Houses, similar to Hogwarts, but instead named after places in the Lake District. I composed a poem about the things that occurred when the wind blew—it almost felt like a song in my head as I wrote it. Despite there being over a hundred entries, my poem was chosen, and my House won first place. I still have the little paper book it was printed in, and I enjoy reading it now and then to reignite feelings of nostalgia.
In Year Eleven, I entered another poetry competition. I had finished my classwork early, so my English teacher brought over an advertisement for the school poetry competition to give me something else to do. I wrote a poem about nature and Earth, inspired by a Don Bluth film called A Troll in Central Park, which my family had picked up at a car boot sale. That poem felt even more like a song—its melody rising in my mind as I wrote. The classroom became background noise as I focused on the words. I felt like I was sharing my own interpretation of the film’s story. When I learned my entry had won, I was delighted. My win was announced in the school paper, and my poem was featured. I received a stack of Michael Morpurgo books worth about sixty pounds. Having already read Why the Whales Came in English, I was thrilled to win more of his books.
Reading those books further deepened my love for reading and writing. In 2015, I enrolled in a writing course taught by a published author to receive feedback and grow my skills. Each week had a different theme. Romance week pushed me outside my comfort zone, but I ended up writing a somewhat tragic love story titled Finding Albert, inspired by the film title Finding Nemo. I received valuable feedback from the course and enjoyed hearing about the other students' journeys as well.
It wasn’t until 2019 that I began writing my first book, Starlight Life. Earlier that year, I took part in a “Write Your Own Daily Flame” contest through an inspirational quote email subscription. I didn’t win, but I was named a runner-up and my quote was shared on their Facebook page with credit. That small confidence boost may have helped spark my book-writing journey.
At the time, I had a Facebook group called Starlight Life (now Living in the Starlight), where I posted quotes about positivity and spirituality. I created it to help myself through the grief of losing my Grannie, and I liked to imagine her watching over me from the stars.
After years of writing posts in the group, I decided that Starlight Life would become a book. I’d either write poems on my computer or jot them in my notebook whenever inspiration struck. Each composition felt like I was crafting a thought, a feeling—something I couldn’t previously express. Some feelings had lingered in me for years. Others arrived suddenly, as if they’d been waiting for me to bring them to light.
The emotions that stirred as I gazed at the stars. The calmness of sipping tea. The imagined messages from spirit guides. All of these became threads in the tapestry of Starlight Life—a weaving of starlight. One poem came to me during a thunderstorm when I couldn’t sleep. It became a metaphor for anxiety and racing thoughts. You could say inspiration struck like lightning that night. Another poem, inspired by rainbows, reminds me of my Grannie. When I read it, I picture her as a beautiful celestial messenger of light—appearing mysteriously to bring hope, then disappearing just as mysteriously.
I self-published Starlight Life through a company called BookBaby, and it was released on December 17, 2021. After around two years of writing, editing, finding a publisher, illustrator, and designing the cover, I felt liberated. I had shared the starlight within me for others to see.
If you ask me what my hopes are now, it’s that more people will discover Starlight Life, be inspired by it, and begin living their own starlight lives. I also hope to create something beautiful again—another interweaving of starlight, with a new title. Starlight Life is a poetry book that invites readers to reflect on their personal philosophies, nature, and spirituality.
As for my own philosophy—I believe the spiritual world is like a mirror. People are likely to see an image of the god or goddess they worship reflected back at them. I also believe that when we sleep, our spirits travel through astral projection, but our waking minds struggle to translate those experiences. Dreams, then, are our mind’s jumbled interpretations of those nightly journeys.
The unexpected spiritual experiences I’ve had—seeing faces in meditation, hearing unfamiliar voices saying my name, and witnessing orbs—have solidified my faith that there is more beyond this life. I’ve even had vivid memories of astral projection and flying. These moments were breathtaking.
I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I believe that whatever lies beyond this life is beyond our comprehension—brilliant and bright as the interweaving of starlight. Perhaps that’s why we don’t remember our lives before birth; the truth may be too much for us to hold.
What we can do is write our own stories, whether or not we are writers. I believe there’s a book in the library of the universe for each of our lives. I hope we all make ours a good one.
