AlexSandra Lett "Lett's Set a Spell"

Lett’s Set a Spell:
Back to School…as a Guest Author

When I was growing up in Buckhorn community in Lee County, on a big farm where King Tobacco reigned and constant chores dominated our lives, I loved going to school. In first grade at Broadway School, I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I learned to read. I devoured every book in the classroom and checked out others from the library.

As I moved up through the grades I discovered that I enjoyed writing. When I received my final report card from Frances Currie after seventh grade, she sent a note saying that my essays were high school level. Later in ninth grade English, a practice teacher from Campbell College (now University) in Buies Creek asked us students to write a reflective story. Since I loved walking in the woods, sitting under trees, and feeding the ducks at our pond, I wrote about Mother Nature. I called my piece of prose “Remembering” and noted:

“Mother Nature embraces me in her loving arms. No other place in the universe can bring me the satisfaction I receive here in (the woods) and though this peace can only be temporary, it is wonderful.”

“I know that Mother Nature will never know how much I love her world, yet I continue to surrender my mind and heart to her. Though she is as naked as birth and as innocent as white she knows my outside world and helps me through my heartaches like no human can do.”

The next day the teacher announced that my essay was so good he would put it on display in a glass case on the college campus. His comments inspired me to consider teaching English, but serving as editor of the high school newspaper shifted my focus to writing about current events. Later, I received a journalism scholarship at UNC-Chapel Hill, earned my degree, and went on work in various aspects of media, including newspapers, magazines, and television. For 10 years I owned a public relations/marketing company in Raleigh but in 1998 decided to focus on creative writing.

Many moons later, as an author, I have the opportunity to speak in schools. Recently I presented programs at Millingport Elementary School in Albemarle, where I discussed my work as a writer to several groups of students ranging from kindergarten through eighth grade. They came to the media center to hear me share stories about my school days, my childhood and career experiences, and my current books. In the cafeteria I loved socializing with teachers and students. Like them, I ate a hot dog, macaroni and cheese, raw carrots and broccoli, and drank my milk. The principal treated each child to a MoonPie and RC Cola…a treat symbolic of my nostalgia books.

During my programs I praise my teachers at Broadway School who had encouraged me to develop my talents. I urge the students to read, to appreciate their teachers, and to also listen to their parents and kinfolks tell stories about their lives. I encourage these young minds to soak up every morsel of knowledge available and to take advantage of every opportunity to learn.

Today I enjoy giving back to schools a token of the insights I gained in my numerous classes from many dedicated teachers. If I can motivate students to believe in themselves, to develop their natural gifts, and to strive for excellence I can achieve my life’s goal: to express myself as a writer and speaker and to inspire others to greatness.