Tuesday, 16th March 2021 — I began writing at a very young age, probably around four or five years old. My first story was written whilst attending Dr Tripletts (Church of England) Primary School in Hayes Middlesex.
In the first or second grade, Mrs Florence E. Alp, who was my teacher, gave the students a class assignment. It was shortly before the Christmas holidays when she instructed us to write a story about the Nativity. She wrote the first sentence on the blackboard, and we then crafted our own words from that beginning.
From my childhood days, I had an aptitude for languages and wrote a story with my own created language using letters of the English alphabet. There were a few of the customary words such as “a”, “and” as well as “the”. The remaining wording was gibberish, or so Mrs Alp and my mother thought.
They tested me to see if I’d been pretending to write. I read my story to them. Then a week later, they asked me to read it again. It was obvious that I knew the meaning of each word. Today, I cannot translate my imaginative child’s língua.
This was the early start of my career as a writer. Back then, I didn’t know this is who I would become. I loved words, the art of handwriting and calligraphy. My script was neatly artistic and I have received many compliments on my handwriting style.
Anywhere I was, I would pick up a pen and paper or diary and write. Throughout the years, I’ve had numerous journals in which I have written my most intimate thoughts. The majority of them are long gone since I shredded their contents and threw them away.
Years later, Mrs Alp and my grand aunt, Ethel, told me when they read the letters I wrote them, it was as if I was talking with them. That is how I composed my correspondence to family and friends. I seemed to have a heart and soul’s conversation with each person. It felt like I was speaking directly to them as I wrote each of my words.
My first stint as a journalist was when I attended General H. H. Arnold High School in Wiesbaden, Germany, where I completed three years of secondary schooling and graduated with honours. During these pre-university studies, I became a staff reporter for the school’s newspaper named Smoke Signals. That is a phrase used to describe how Native Americans communicated to members of their tribe signalling with smoke from fires.
One of the pieces that I wrote at that time, which still sticks in my mind, was regarding the Vietnam War. I was very much against the wars of men. This perspective was influenced by my American history teacher, Mr Taylor. He taught us war is about finances, control and power. It was, and still is, a moneymaking business for mankind who’s intent on controlling people and destroying lives.
I enjoyed writing for this informative print media. It was an exciting opportunity, which initiated an interest in journalism. I did investigative reporting and wrote opinion-editorials. Do I still have any of those articles? If so, they are probably packed away in a box stored in the bedroom I occupy whenever I visit my parents’ house in Seattle, Washington. I kept some of my teenage-years poetry and include it in a writer’s portfolio I have in Anguilla.
Today, I respectfully acknowledge and give thanks to the Editor-in-Chief of The Anguillian, Mr A. Nat Hodge, MBE, for allowing me to continue pursuing my journey as a journalist. My first piece was written and published in 2008. It was a short commentary composed one early morning after taking a walk throughout Cedar Village where I noticed widespread roadside trash.
The article was simultaneously printed in The Daily Herald, our local newspaper’s counterpart in Sint Maarten, due to its submission by Mrs Brenda Carty, MBE, Contributing Journalist. My heartfelt gratitude to The Anguillian staff and everyone who has encouraged me to share my passionate creativity in diverse global communities.
For six decades, I’ve developed my talents for the art of words, both oral and written, in various positions of employment, volunteering with churches and civic organisations, and assisting entrepreneurs, friends and relatives. I continue evolving as a life-long writer changing my writing style to align with the present-day times.
_____________
Kay M Ferguson is a contributing columnist who uses the nom de plume, The Empress Extraordinaire. Her words encourage us to explore who we are and evolve as human-beings. Link with Kay at anguillawriter@gmail.com.
