18-year old N'Dea Sims is a talented young Baltimorean and aspiring writer. Sims, who is working with an illustrator to publisher her first children's book, is the namesake of the N'Dea Sims Youth Writer's Challenge (Youth Writer's Challenge) - a writing contest scheduled next month in conjunction with the 3rd Annual African American Author's Expo & Multi-Cultural Book Fair.
Sims works part-time at a Baltimore Chipotle Mexican Grill and hopes to attend Cheney University to study journalism and psychology. She is an avid reader. Maya Angelou, Walter Dean Myers, and Omar Tyree are just a few of her favorite authors.
Sims is a young lady focused on her goals and destined for greatness. Already planning to own her own production company, to mentor children, to launch several businesses and to be "very, very successful," Sims is destined for greatness. Her favorite pastime is writing.
"I started writing in middle school because I stuttered, and I felt like if I talked no one would take me serious. I had low self-esteem. I felt like my only outlet was to write," explained Sims. For her, writing was a safe place away from everything else. "That was my own world where I could be myself ... the person I was scared to show," explained Sims.
Sims encourages other young people aged 11 - 18 to submit their original poetry and short stories to the Youth Writer's Challenge. When asked what outcome she hoped to see as a result of the Youth Writer's Challenge, Sims said "Honestly, I want to change someone's life that day. I want to give someone the confidence I never had. I want to inspire." She went on to explain that the Youth Writer's Challenge basically gives kids the chance to be themselves ... so their voice can be appreciated."
For more information about the N'Dea Sims Youth Writer's Challenge, visit http://aaaexpo.ning.com. The submission deadline has been extended until August 5, 2012.
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