About Me — Jessica Katherine Andrews

Burns slow; shines bright.

The author attempting a self-portrait after 3 cherry beers.

Picture this: you are a small girl who is ambivalent about school—mostly because you are startlingly average in every subject.

One day, your teacher tells you that for your SATS (standard assessment tests) you can write a story about anything you want. “Anything?” you ask incredulously because you are used to school being all about what you can’t do. “Anything,” says your teacher, and she smiles.

You are full of wonder. You turn down playtime with your friends to trail fingers through the branches of a weeping willow and watch cotton-ball clouds float across the sky. You wonder how you will describe nature in your story with such accuracy the reader will feel like they’re there. You consider your protagonist and all the magical places she’ll go. You wonder if her adventures will make other little girls feel less alone.

You write the story, blood humming with excitement.

You wait with bated breath for the results.

The story gets disqualified because you have forgotten to use full stops.

You get a fail.

Even as late as university, I was all over the freaking place