BY HARGUN KAUR KHATRA
FIFTH-GRADE STUDENT, FOUNDERS CLASSICAL ACADEMY

This is our fourth “Community Corner” post, and it comes from Hargun Kaur Khatra, a bright and imaginative 5th-grade student at Founders Classical Academy. She dreams of becoming an author and poet – and full-time cardiologist. In her free time, she enjoys writing short stories for kids and is a published author. Her latest book Johanna of the Misty Mountain is available now on Amazon.

Have you ever been told you’re too young to make a change, you’re too young to do this or that? I’ve heard that quite a bit. Just because you are a minor doesn’t mean you can’t accomplish great things. My name is Hargun Khatra and words have always helped me make sense of the world.

I was always interested in writing. It gave me a space to meet with my characters when reality didn’t work out. Whenever I saw a piece of paper, I would immediately put any thoughts down and convert them into stories, purely for my enjoyment. I always felt a special connection towards vocabulary and story formation. C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, Rick Riordan and other phenomenal writers have always been my inspiration, what I aspire to be. I find my wisdom in Alex Bailey from The Land of Stories, I find my curiosity from Alice in Wonderland, I find my kindness in the Railway Children, I find my indecisiveness from Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, and most importantly, I found a part of me in every word from these books. Then, something hit me. Something strong, a surge of ideas, but one stuck out to me, all my favorite books were made by adult authors. If they could change children’s lives with one pen, one paper, and one idea, then so could I.

It all began one blazing hot day, a year ago, in summer break. On my To Do List, it said to write a short story. I grabbed my notebook and a pencil and sat down, not thinking much of it. I looked around the room, thinking of ideas when a book caught my eye; two to be exact. Heidi by Johanna Spyri and Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. I had always been so intrigued by these two books. Little did I know, these two books would be my inspiration, my notebook my canvas, my brain the paint, my hands the paint brush, and the sky the limit.

Therefore, I wrote down everything I could using my brain fuel. The words just flowed.

That night, I showed it to my mom, my biggest cheerleader. She said it was amazing and asked me to type it. From there, Johanna of the Misty Mountain was born.

I always thought that authors have it easy. I imagined they lived in a gargantuan castle and were served cookies for breakfast with servants. They could yell at their servants so they could work in peace. But, now that I am far older in my mind, writing doesn’t need a nice space, it needs a great foundation.

I am working on my second book now, and I have realized what writing truly is. Writing creates a Utopious and equitable environment, as well as covering your mind in harmony.

I hope to continue writing and I hope to inspire minors who have potential that needs to be cultivated. We all need to share our thoughts, whether they are big or small, they make a difference.

And, as Malala Yousafzai and Mahatma Gandhi once said and I quote:

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

-Mahatma Gandhi.

“Let us remember: one book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.”

-Malala Yousafzai.