LOS ANGELES -- It can be intimidating to share something you wrote by reading it out loud and asking others for feedback. Arielle Davis has been writing stories, poems, and much more since the seventh grade. 

She's sharing an excerpt from one of her short stories with her mentor:

“Street lamps are homes for wasps and mosquitoes. I wanted to subvert the idea of light and how it is positive,” Davis said.

Davis loves crafting her own stories or moments through words, but it wasn’t easy for her to share her thoughts and her work in the beginning.

“I used to really struggle with finding the right words to communicate with others and I think that writing not only in a straightforward way,, but also in like, figurative language and poetry and things like that, I can actually get the scene in my mind into somebody else’s,” Davis said.

While her school’s English class provided writing assignments, creative writing exercises became a lost chapter. That’s why she continued her love for writing with mentors like Sally Mercedes who shares her experience as a copyeditor and writer with teen girls through a nonprofit called WriteGirl.

Mercedes and Davis meet about twice each month to practice writing exercises, review any recent work they’ve created and to just share their love for writing. 

WriteGirl pairs teen girls with mentors to encourage creativity, leadership skills and to help them make a successful transition into college. Last year, 68 girls in the program graduated high school, all of them continued their education by going to college.

With the help of mentors and her own love for writing, Davis will be heading to college next year, too.

“A lot of what I already know she has gotten, she’s confident. I know that’s the number one thing I wish I had more of when I was her age. And she has a real sense of allowing herself expression to be an important part of her life,” Mercedes said.

Without the support of her mentors like Mercedes, Davis said she might not have discovered her love for writing.

“At my school, there’s a lot of apprehension when it comes to writing, in general. Whether it be for essays, poetry, songwriting anything. And it’s really nice to be in a place where you are comfortable enough to write with other people,” Davis said.

As Davis contemplates her next milestone of graduating high school, she’s hoping to take her writing to the next level by pursuing a career in journalism and inspiring future writers by sharing stories that showcase a new perspective.

WriteGirl has helped more than 2,000 teens since 2001 and currently has 85 mentor/mentee pairs.