You may have seen Athena Wu (12) hanging out around Shah often. Perhaps you’ve come across her drawings and sketches, or maybe you’ve experienced her supportive and empathetic nature. But beyond what meets the eye at first glance, there’s much more to Athena. From struggles and insecurities to self-growth and acceptance, creative writing has accompanied her, every step of the way.

Back in first grade, when Athena discovered creative writing for the first time, she was fascinated by the freedom of allowing her thoughts to spill onto paper. Ever since, it’s been an integral part of her identity.

“When I was young, I used to be really shy and self-conscious,” Athena said. “I wasn’t always comfortable saying things out loud, so writing gave me a way to express myself without having that fear of judgment.”

Athena prefers creative writing over academic writing because of its limitless potential for self-expression. With fewer mechanical restrictions and more freedom, she can explore a much wider range of styles and formats.

“My favorite part about [creative] writing is that it can just be whatever you want,” Athena said. “You don’t have to write in complete sentences, and I’ve always found it easier to express my thoughts through that.”

Within the realm of creative writing, Athena is especially drawn to poetry and screenwriting and usually aims to portray themes related to mental illness and struggles. While poetry helps her process her emotions, screenwriting is what allows her to visualize what she writes about and bring her stories to life.

One of her work-in-progress screenplays tells the story of a blind man who receives a drug to recover his vision, leading him down a dangerous and destructive path. Drawing on her own emotions and her family’s experiences, Athena infuses her work with a sense of authenticity.

“I want to explore themes of the beauty standard, like self-esteem and self-hatred, and the man’s relationship with his wife,” Athena said. “A lot of it has to do with how women are viewed by men. It’s dark, but I think it’s pretty interesting.”

Athena draws inspiration from a wide range of sources in her creative pursuits, but one filmmaker in particular inspired her to start screenwriting: Charlie Kaufman. In the future, she hopes to follow in his footsteps.

“[Kaufman’s works are] always very abstract and surreal,” Athena said. “He also explores the really dark parts of human psychology and human emotion, so I really like that.”

As president of Psychology Club, Athena has gained a wealth of knowledge about the field, which she uses to create complex, nuanced characters in her writing.

“I really like creating characters and building their psychology from the ground up,” Athena said. “Starting with their parents and how they were raised, that affects how they treat other people and how they view themselves. It plays a really important part for everyone, in all of our lives.”

While Athena’s primary passion lies in the realm of creative writing, she has also dipped her toes into the world of journalism. As the co-founder of Synthesis Publications, an online news platform, she has written numerous poetry and opinion pieces. However, she found that the fact-based nature of journalism restricted her creativity. Despite stepping away from journalism, her experience in the field has left a lasting impact on her.

“[Writing for journalism] has made me a lot more in tune with what’s going on around me,” Athena said. “Paying attention to the news and events that are happening makes me always want to give my writing some kind of purpose, something that other people will resonate with.”

Athena now enjoys incorporating dark themes into her writing, but that wasn’t always the case. She began writing to vent about her mental health, but during the pandemic, her writing evolved into a way of spreading awareness.

“My writing was more like diary entries, and it became really dark,” Athena said. “After getting through the pandemic, I still incorporate dark themes into my writing, but in a much more nuanced and meaningful way.”

Despite the often-heavy subject matter of her writing, Athena remains a source of light for those around her. Younger brother Arthur Wu (10) bonds with Athena during their daily car rides to school and noted how she always provides guidance during times of doubt.

“In a lot of things I do, she encourages me just to go for it,” Arthur said. “She always cheers me on after my dance performances or anything like that, so she’s really supportive.”

Close friend Arissa Huda (12) met Athena in second grade and agreed with Arthur’s sentiment regarding support. She appreciates Athena’s ability to lay things out from a different angle.

“She doesn’t let anything stop her, and she’s very good at putting things into perspective,” Arissa said. “She’s the type of person that says, this is just a grain of sand in the bigger beach. That’s really nice to hear, especially for someone like me who’s more of a perfectionist.”

Athena’s persistence is evident in her writing journey, which didn’t come without its own challenges. For a long time, Athena struggled to gather enough confidence to put herself out into the world.

“For me, the biggest challenge has been knowing how to integrate parts of myself into my writing and be really open about it,” Athena said. “It’s taken a lot of work to get to a point where I am now really comfortable expressing parts of myself that I wouldn’t normally share.”

As Athena’s close friend since middle school, Carol Wininger (12) proudly acknowledged Athena’s growth over the past few years.

“In the long term, I’ve seen her grow in confidence and in character, and I’ve seen all the difficulties and hardships she’s overcome,” Carol said. “Just thinking about that is something that makes me really happy.”

Athena’s truthful and empathetic disposition motivates her to pull through times of adversity. Looking to the future, she aspires to shed light on overlooked topics, gives voices to the underrepresented and writes about issues that matter. 

“After I’m done writing a piece, I feel like I know myself a little bit better,” Athena said. “As I write, I am unraveling my own identity, and sometimes I’ll figure something out about my own psychology through my characters. Those little moments of revelation are cool.”