Guest Blogger ... Dallas Woodburn

Give Back by Paying Forward

By all rights, I should not be writing this. I should not even be here at all. I was born three months prematurely, weighing a mere two pounds, six ounces. For the first few months of my life, I was in the hospital, kept alive by feeding tubes and a respirator. My harrowing entrance into the world is a daily reminder for me of the fragility of life, and to pursue my dreams with both joy and urgency – dreams are too important to "put off" till tomorrow!

I have loved to write for as long as I can remember. When I was in fifth grade, I published my first book, There's a Huge Pimple on My Nose: A Collection of Stories and Poems. It received a glowing review in the Los Angeles Times: "If you simply want to enjoy some remarkable writing, it would be hard to find a book more satisfying." My second book, 3 a.m., has also received high praise and was featured on the national book talk show "Between the Lines" on PBS. I have also published articles and essays in Family Circle, Writer's Digest, The Los Angeles Times, and eight Chicken Soup for the Soul books.

The night I was born, a doctor who was caring for me told my father, “Your daughter is a fighter.” Still today, I draw strength from those words. My mantra has become “P.A.S.T. – Preemies Are So Tough.” Whenever I feel down or discouraged, I remind myself of my past. Compared to being kept alive by a respirator and feeding tubes, nothing seems insurmountable.

Being a preemie has not only given me the resilience to overcome disappointment and the courage to pursue my dreams, it has also instilled in me the desire to give to others. I feel boundless gratitude to the doctors and nurses who saved my life. There is no way I can ever repay them. What I can do, however, is “pay forward” in their honor by doing good works and striving to better the lives of others.

In 2001, I created "Write On! For Literacy" to encourage kids to discover confidence, joy, a means of self-expression and connection through reading and writing. I hold writing contests, teach writing camps, and created a website www.writeonbooks.org that features book reviews, author interviews, and more. In the past eight years, my Holiday Book Drive has collected and distributed more than 11,100 new books to underprivileged children for Christmas. My latest endeavor is starting a publishing company, Write On! Books, that publishes anthologies of stories, poems and essays by young writers for young readers. The first Write On! anthology, Dancing With The Pen, features the work of more than sixty young writers from all across the United States and even abroad, and is scheduled for release this summer.

Every year on my birthday, I visit the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the local hospital. I introduce myself to the worried parents of the sickly preemies and tell them how I was once a tiny baby in an incubator myself. You would never know it now. I am five-foot-ten, an honors student, and ran track and cross-country in high school. The parents tell me I give them hope. Visiting the NICU is my most treasured birthday tradition. It reminds me how incredibly blessed I am to be alive and healthy today.

All of us have gone through difficulties in our lives. All of us are indebted to people who have given us so much that there is no way we can ever repay them. Instead of trying to pay back, I urge you to focus on paying forward. Volunteering to help others in honor of someone who has helped you in an extremely rewarding and fulfilling way to live your life.

Dallas Woodburn, 22, is the author of two collections of short stories and a forthcoming novel.A recent graduate of the University of Southern California, she is entering the M.F.A. Program in Fiction Writing at Purdue University in the fall. For her volunteer work, Dallas has been nationally honored with a Congressional Award Gold Medal, a Jackie Kennedy Onassis/Jefferson Award, and most recently a “Best of You” Award from Glamour Magazine. Connect with Dallas at http://dallaswoodburn.blogspot.com/ and http://www.writeonbooks.org.

posted by Margaret McSweeney @ 7:26 AM