Sometimes an event happens which impacts you, even though you might not at the time be aware of its importance.
It is usually a very minor event, barely memorable at all. It is only years later that the ripples it sends through your life are felt, and exactly what the event meant is revealed.
I had just such an event as a teenager, although I only recently became aware of the fact.
I was walking with my best friend’s little sister, and to keep her from becoming bored I began to tell her a story. As we walked I drew inspiration from pretty much everything around us, which might seem unlikely since the story was about a group of people, who I called Star People, who travelled through space.
Believe it or not it was a leaf, shaped somewhat like a star, which launched the entire thing.
We must have walked for at least an hour, me weaving new elements into the story as inspiration hit.
We had not planned to take quite that long of a walk, but when I looked at my companion’s face as the story developed and noticed how enthralled she was, it spurred me to even greater leaps of imagination as I strove to increase the level of entertainment.
I was challenged as I had never before been challenged.
Looking back, I can now recognize that event as the one that switched on my storytelling gene. I was hooked.