While in High School, my first passion was composing music. Used to stay late after school everyday playing the piano, while learning the trumpet and flute at home. Got used to playing them each day, everyday, for hours, they became like  a drug.

Eventually, I discovered that on top of playing and composing music, the real underlying love  that fed into everything was actually of ‘creating.’ The act of smashing random ideas into something new was what I needed to do. So I began looking for something which would alleviate my fix.

Also, on that same note, it didn’t take long to realize the problem that I couldn’t take a piano everywhere. You know, as they were kinda of heavy and I was this dangly kid.

As such, I decided to pick something lighter to keep my brain bubbling ideas on the go. I wasn’t sure what at first as God knew I was horrible at drawing and I also wanted something which gave me a more immediate  payoff. In the end? The answer? WRITING!

I had always enjoyed playing and composing however, as an immigrant kid, I started being curious at try my hand and writing. Like short stories you ask? Nah, back I really really needed that instant gratification! Poetry was short enough to provide that.

Now, why call it a ‘Pink Period?’ After my English teacher read some of my early -and I am pretty sure in his opinion, pretty sucky poetry, he made the right call in stating, ‘at your age, you are all a bunch of walking bags of hormones!‘ …And… of course,  he was right. Up to then, everything I written had about love, desire, lust: Just your typical horny teenage stuff.

For those first years, I saw the world through candle light and pink coloured glasses. Which is normally one of the two main roads kids at that age take. Either romantic passion or grim angst. In my case, off I went trying to live and wear romanticism as if it were a cape. Did it help me get a girlfriend? No, not really. In fact most of the poems during this period were written while single. Darn.

The first serious poem I wrote, was in grade 10, during lunch and it was called Through The Eyes Of A Lover. Corny now but back then I thought it was the shit!

So as an overview: During this period, all works are simplistic with a very free-style structure. The focus is on romantic emotions so basically what you and I thought when we were at that age.