In the Words of a Mentor...
by Charlotte Bennardo We can all look to those pivotal moments in our lives that changed us. One of them, for me, occurred in seventh grade, at Brentwood Junior High School. I'd always been shy (yes, hard to believe if you know me now), and stayed in the background, whether it was with friends or in class. I had no idea about future plans since getting through math class was my biggest worry. One day, my English teacher, Mr. Cavuto, assigned the class an essay that had to be persuasive, and the topic was if we could be any animal, which would we choose. I chose the American bald eagle. I got an A. When he returned the paper, he said, "You write well. This was the best paper." The fact that he considered my writing better than the person who would go on to be our valedictorian left me shocked. He further surprised me, saying, "You should be a writer." From then on, I wrote. At first, very bad poetry, then awful short stories, then in high school for the studen...
