The pages of her little red notebook flick back and forth as Abbie Samuel (’25) writes out a new story idea that popped into her head. Inspiration can strike at any time, so she always keeps a notebook around to write down her ideas. Sometimes it’s character names, sometimes it’s simple phrases, sometimes it’s even whole plotlines, but each idea is as valuable as the last to helping Abbie see through the whole worlds she’s created through creating writing.

“I have so many ideas and I didn’t know what to do with them, or how to turn them into notes on paper, until I found this teeny tiny notebook,” Abbie said. “I’ve had about three or four over the years, and in those notebooks, I write every single detail — sometimes briefly in class or during lunch. I actually write so much in there that it became a bit with friends.”

Abbie was involved in the creative world since middle school, creating worlds and loads of original characters to supplement her vision. Yet, as she’s matured, she’s also found that these worlds she’s grown to develop and love have changed with her. 

“It started when I was really young with these intense dreams that I would write down — then I’d try to build off of that,” Abbie said. “I had a bunch of concepts and even characters that I still use; I’ve just revamped them. Now, I’ve found more stable ways of inspiration, but it’s interesting to see how these worlds have changed over time.”

Abbie’s writing led her down paths that she’s never thought of, especially regarding research. Although her stories typically fall into fiction or fantasy genres, Abbie spent large amounts of time researching the historical backgrounds for her names and character designs.

“I’ve found myself looking a lot more into specific places and their history to kind of set up the types of character design,” Abbie said. “A lot of my character’s clothing is supposed to be inspired by traditional clothing. But I also did more research into what could make them more unique, visually, even by incorporating trends into their universes.”

Although it mostly began with original characters, Abbie also forayed into the realm of developing her own ideas based on pre-existing pieces of media, which she loves to use for inspiration. This creativity can come in the form of TV shows, movies or even video games.

“There are a lot of tropes that I want to subvert or that I want to see in a different way,” Abbie said. “Sometimes I’ll go off of themes and genres for the type of story that I want to make. And sometimes it’s truly just character design and character interactions, rather than just the setting.”

All of this character creation and world-building serves to fuel another interest of Abbie’s, creative writing. A natural progression from her worlds and characters, Abbie’s writing endeavors have morphed over the years to express herself more creatively. 

“Even when I’m doing a character exercise, I’m creating,” Abbie said. “Sometimes I’m explicitly writing out what I see in my head. I used to be really stuck on writing. In the past, the only writing I could do other than analytical essays would be something like a personal narrative. But now I’ve learned to embrace this other side of me; I think about it, I close my eyes, I type out every plot point, and then build off of that.”

Abbie’s personal artistry shine through through more than just the realm of writing and creating original characters. Math teacher Caren Furtado appreciates Abbie’s personality, as it brightens up any room she walks into.

“The most amazing thing about Abbie is her positivity,” Furtado said. “If you see the overall school population there are a lot of Harker students that say things like, ‘It’s over, like, I’m never getting into college,’ but she’s not like that. She’s very bright, and very joyous as well.”

Abbie’s infectious positivity extends to her friends as well. Close friend Connor Su (’25) admires how Abbie always provides support to those around her.

“She’s one of those people you’re just drawn to and want to get closer with,” Connor said. “Any time I see her during a not-so-great day, I know that at least in the moment it’ll be okay and enjoyable. She’s so good at balancing that prioritization of herself while being sure to be there for other people as well, and that’s something she’s really learned to grow into over these past few years.”

Close friend Zachary Soraire (’25), who met Abbie through advisory and bonded with her in band, recounts how Abbie introduced him to the rest of their friend group. The two bonded over their love of video games and grew closer over Tetris.

“I love Tetris, and I introduced Abbie to it as well,” Zachary said. “I’m training her to get the high score in tetr.io, and during our shared free period we became really close. Abbie has a cool personality and she cares about others, always making sure everyone is heard in a conversation.”