I came across academic writing in 2008. For many years, my writing was highly structured, complex, and you could even say the typical slow and painful process that every future academic knows. I published in refereed journals, institutional, and state level magazines. I contributed multiple book chapters and academic reviews. I matched the objective tone and convoluted structures that characterize academic writing.

But then, I started writing pieces that were more accessible. Several factors influenced this shift, including my life changing experience with Hurricane Maria and my transition from academia to the business world. I discovered that the writer in me had had her voice and creative genius stolen. Twelve publications later, I finally got a manuscript out there in my first language: Spanish. Since 2017, I have published in local and international newspapers. I achieved my first published story for children and an article in a business magazine. Not a single one of these publications took years in the making, and every single one of them has reached thousands of readers.