Dear Ellen,
I know I’m only one of millions who reach out to you in gratitude for all your kind deeds, and yet I feel compelled to thank you for the incredible difference you have made in the lives of so many – and, most profoundly, in mine.
I have always been a creative, quirky soul; the best way to describe me is as someone who lives in a world of their own imagination. My grade two teacher once wrote on my report card that I was “off with the fairies” – which, I’m proud to say, is true ninety-nine per-cent of the time. So I’ve always been a little ‘different’; a little left of centre. I now see my uniqueness as a gift, and have, in recent years, received recognition for the abilities I am lucky enough to have been given. As a teenager, I suffered debilitating anxiety and depression to the point where I considered suicide. Though I have since learned to live with my condition and am a generally happy, positive person who loves life and is lucky enough to have many dear friends and a wonderful family, there are times when I still sink back in to that dark place from my past and it can be difficult to pull myself out again.
Writing has always been an outlet for me. Ever since I learned to read and write, at a very young age, I’ve never stopped. It’s my dream to be able to write my novels for a living, to have the time and freedom to do so whilst continuing to teach young children part-time, volunteering to teach literacy and reading books to disadvantaged kids (check out The Pyjama Foundation! It’s awesome! www.thepyjamafoundation.com), and to adopt as many abandoned animals as is legally allowed in suburbia!! (Or perhaps I’ll move to a farm. I want chickens. Chickens are important to me. And a vegetable patch). To have the opportunity to pass on the kindness and support I have been shown in my life would be both humbling and fulfilling beyond words. I could never wish for more than that from life.
I believe that communication and self-expression through literature has the potential to change lives. I believe fiercely in the power of the written word, in the strength and endurance of the human heart and its capacity for love, and in having the courage to utilise both to change the world, one person at a time. My mother taught me that and it is my dearest wish that someday I will have the means to support my incredible, amazing mum who has sacrificed everything for her family and now barely has the money to retire at sixty-two years of age. She works tirelessly with young children to this day and is a deeply loved and respected member of our community - and the person I most admire.
As you may well imagine, a career as a teacher and a love of literature has led me to start writing books for children and young adults. Over the last couple of years, I have completed two young adult manuscripts (links can be found below!) and have several more in progress. And I have no intention of stopping - ever. My entire life revolves around writing. When I’m not plotting out my latest novel or editing until I’m cross-eyed, I’m imagining, day-dreaming, conjuring the stories and characters in my mind. (Often at the expense of other important tasks that require completion!) All my works explore the topics of difference, diversity and inner beauty, of celebrating ourselves and others as individuals, and the power of love to triumph over all.
Ellen, your show has always been a beacon of light in my ‘dark days’, and it was on one such anxious day, when I was feeling ready to run away to the middle of nowhere and become a hermit, that I happened to catch your show. It wasn’t that there was anything in particular that ‘spoke’ to me; there was no pule-rate-increasing celebrity appearance (Sadly, Robert Pattinson didn't have any films coming out), nor special topic that happened to catch my interest. It was just you. I was struck by how, through your own incredible spirit, you are able to give people the courage to face their fears and to pursue their wildest dreams, whatever those dreams may be - and whatever the odds. You liberate people, daring them to believe in the impossible, and in themselves. And, as a fellow dreamer, that strikes a chord in me. It fills me with awe and admiration. You are not only an entertainer but someone who, through your own example, permits others to pursue that which is in their own hearts. Even as a writer, I can never express in words what you have meant to me, and what you will continue to mean to others through years to come.
And so, that courage you inspired was passed on to me. I got off the couch, had a dance, got back on the couch and flipped open my laptop. Then I got to querying literary agents via email for about two days straight. Since that day, I have pitched my novels to literary agencies all over the globe, and over the past three years I have been rejected by no less than twenty-five of those agencies. No, this is by no means a sob story, nor a request for you to snap your fingers and somehow make me the next JK Rowling! It is a story of perseverance and self-belief. And it is with great pride that I can say I have recently been signed to Australian literary agent Nanette Halliday (which means I don’t suck and that someone whose opinion actually means something believes in me!!), I have received interest from some reputable publishers, have acquired fans on Harper Collin’s writing sites authonomy.com and inkpop.com where samples of my novels can be found and I am now on my way to, someday - hopefully(!) - being a published author! (Of course, there is still my dream of being of the Ellen show. But that’s another story!) And it all started one day as I was moping about on the couch, wishing I could be sucked in to a black hole and never seen again, and I happened to see your show. What a difference a day makes! ;)
If I continue to build the pathway to my dreams, and some day my humble stories make an ounce of difference in people’s lives, you can be sure that you were my inspiration. If I had given up in the face of countless rejections – or even if I were to give up now, after years of striving for publication – I would never realise my dreams. (And if, in the meantime, you have any awesome contacts who’ll fast-track my way to publication, by all means go for it. I won’t say no. ;)
I love you, Ellen!! Thank you for all you do for millions of people each day. You are truly prolific and an inspiration to people everywhere. In the words of Marianne Williamson, 'there's nothing enlightened about shrinking so other people won't feel insecure around you... as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same'. And that's what you do, Ellen. You shine so that others might find the courage to do the same.
With much love and heartfelt thanks from your devoted fan,
I. Alexandra
**Link: My Inkpop profile
VISIT MY BLOG !!! : theunquietmindialexandra.blogspot.com
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
― Marianne Williamson
