As a middle and high school teacher, though, I found myself feeling increasingly disconnected from myself.

I’ve seen how these four skills can build student confidence and transform their writing.

Four years in, I was at a crossroads. I wanted to carve my own path as I worked with young people, earned a comfortable living, and followed my dream of writing—but I wasn’t sure how to do it all.

Voice is connected to personal experience and our ability to make meaning of that experience. In other words, it’s what makes us human.

I tell students that in writing, voice includes details and perspective of our lived experiences, and the meaning we make from them.