It's exciting to see your name in print—especially for the first time.

There's a sense of pride that builds inside you when you realize that someone thought enough about what you had to say to make it public.

For me, seeing my name in print the first time helped seal a career choice at a young age.

My sixth-grade English teacher gave us an assignment to write a letter to the editor of one of the local newspapers. My topic: How violence on television affects children.

Like many pre-teens, I thought I knew everything and was more than happy to share my opinion on the topic.

Of course violence on television doesn't influence violent behavior in children. "Look at me," I reasoned. "I'm a child and I don't feel TV makes me violent."

My 12-year-old mind thought this made perfect sense. If it doesn't affect me, then it probably isn't as a big a deal as everyone makes it. In fact, I felt almost insulted that people thought children couldn't differentiate between TV and real life. Today, I know better.

I wrote my letter, showed it to the teacher, edited a little, and mailed it off. Then I waited.

Every day after school I scanned the editorial page looking for my letter. There were the typical rants about politicians and complaints about taxes, but not my letter.

After searching diligently for two weeks, I began to get discouraged. But then, one Tuesday afternoon, I opened the paper to find my letter right there in the middle of the page.

I was so excited and proud that I showed everyone I knew. I would have shown total strangers if given the opportunity.

"Look what I did!" I said. And the proof was right there in black and white: "Sincerely, Laura Johnston."

Seeing my name printed in the paper opened up a whole new world to me. That's when I realized that I wanted to be a writer.

Since then, I have been blessed with the opportunity to see my name in print dozens of times. But every once in a while, I'll feel good about an article I've written and I can almost hear that 12-year-old girl boasting, "Look what I did!"