Paulina María Senges-Ocasio, a talented and vivacious 12-year-old student, has recently self-published her very first book, Christmas Island. This young lady is packed full of creativity, intelligence and determination; she’s very excited to share her new book with our community.
Paulina and her family are a close-knit group from Puerto Rico and joined us in Lake Nona five years ago. Throughout Christmas Island, Paulina and illustrator Mariel Mercado exhibit themes of diversity and coexistence, and the creation of the book took collaboration between Paulina and each member of her family. Ultimately, the book is a happy and colorful tale and represents the Senges-Ocasio family and their many talents.
Paulina enjoys all things music, baking and reading and often can be found writing anything from songs to stories. She hadn’t initially planned to write a children’s book and happened upon the idea by chance just last year. Paulina’s older sister, Adanna, was applying makeup to her younger sibling when they heard a song called “Christmas Island.” This led Paulina to wonder what such a place would look like, and she and Adanna dove into a discussion trying to describe what the fictional island would consist of.
The duo envisioned candy cane palm trees, cookie dough soil, tinsel grass, and everything else that Mercado gorgeously drew to life. Paulina immediately wrote down the idea she and her sister had come up with and excitedly showed her parents, who told her it would make a great story.
“So, then I started writing,” said Paulina. The 12-year-old author found the story easy to write but challenged herself to make it rhyme as well. Her process of discovery into the world of writing is real, just like any other writer’s – rearranging sentences, reducing repetitive words, and figuring out how to get it published. She poured over her story to doctor it to her liking with the help of her family as proofreaders.
Paulina encourages anyone with an idea in their heart to not overthink it and emphasizes that all of your ideas have value. She will continue writing, but she is not sure which of her interests will captivate her next; don’t be surprised if you see a new hit song written by the seventh grader in the coming years!
In addition to writing children’s stories, Paulina has passions for music, performance and much more. She’d like to study music and law in New York and has a handful of various careers holding her interest. She noted her career options as being a lawyer, a musician, a journalist, a Broadway performer, or a bakery owner. Such an ambitious outlook has brought along her first book and will surely bring more achievements in her future.
“Honestly, you are not really writing for any other person but yourself,” she said. “So, then, just write the story that you have inside of you. Just say what you want to say.”
Christmas Island can be purchased on Amazon either in paperback form or in Kindle format. A percentage of the proceeds will be contributed to Lin-Manual Miranda’s Puerto Rico Art Fund, and another portion will go to Paulina’s middle school drama club. Check out this young lady’s book for a lighthearted, imaginative Christmas tale for children and adults alike. To buy an autographed copy from the author or for more information, please contact [email protected].
