Safaa Sobri is a student at Co-op Academy Grange in Bradford where she worked with Writers-in-Residence Dan Ingram Brown and Sairish Hussain. Safaa was selected to attend First Story’s Summer Residential in 2022, attending the week long course at Arvon’s Lumb Bank in West Yorkshire. She plans to go to university in the future and would like to pursue a career in writing.
When I started First Story, I wanted to know what steps I would have to take to become an author. I didn’t know that people can make a whole living out of writing. When we went on trips or when writers came into school, you realise that their full job is based on literature. It’s inspirational.
I most enjoy the different prompts that each writer gives you. When you write, they give you feedback as well. It feels nice to have someone hear you out. It makes you feel like you’re heard, and the writers support you and encourage you to write more.
After taking part in First Story, I think I’m more creative. I can make stories on the spot. If I get inspiration about anything, I just write it down in my journal and come back to it. I remember on the Residential, Ashley Hickson-Lovence was saying how everything could be inspiration, everything’s material. I can look at things and just start writing about them, but before I wouldn’t have. You can make your mind write things and you’re looking for a deeper meaning in things that you see, maybe from just observing other people’s lives. I’m also more open minded after First Story because people’s views and opinions are talked about.
I think I’m more confident because I wouldn’t have been comfortable speaking to so many people before. I remember when we went to the Connect Event at University of Huddersfield, they asked if people wanted to perform. And on any other trips, after you write, if you want to perform, you can. I first performed in Huddersfield, and it actually went really well. I don’t know why I was so scared. Everybody started clapping and they actually liked the material I’d written. It boosted my confidence; I don’t know why I was thinking like I was. Before First Story, I would be shy to talk to teachers, ask them for help or feedback, or just talk to adults in general. But now I wouldn’t mind. First Story changed my perspective.
I also went to the Young Writers Festival at the University of Cambridge. I liked going to Cambridge itself because you can see what the university is like and you can talk to the university students and ask them how it is for them. You get a feel for what you want for your future.
The best experience I’ve had with First Story was attending the Summer Residential in 2022. I most enjoyed the free space and time we had to write. At the Residential, you get the sense of the nature all around you and you have peace of mind. It’s like a free liberal space, you’re not constricted. You’re not having to think constantly. You can just look around, breathe in, and then when something pops up, you can just write it down. The best thing was probably making friends who have the same interests as me and learning about a career in writing as well.