Hello, My name is Ariel. If I am asking people to invest in my vision, I believe it is important to be completely vulnerable and share the reason behind why this work means so much to me.

Recently, I made the difficult decision to leave my job as an educator after years of watching my mental health decline. It was not an easy decision. I loved working with my students, and leaving a career I had dedicated so much of myself to was heartbreaking. However, I reached a point where I knew I had to choose my well-being.

For 3 years, I applied for different jobs and searched for a career path that felt right for me. Eventually, I decided to stop forcing a path that no longer felt aligned with me and let go, allowing God to guide me toward my purpose. That was when I began to recognize something that had been in front of me all along: my calling to create children's books.

My journey working with the youth began long before I became an educator.

At 14 years old, I began working with children through a church summer camp. At 16, I became a mentor working with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. After turning 18, I moved to Michigan to earn my degree in Psychology because I wanted to advocate for people whose voices were often unheard.

During my own childhood, I struggled deeply with my mental health and experienced multiple suicide attempts. Those experiences were also my introduction to therapy and showed me firsthand how important it is for young people to have access to support, understanding, and safe spaces where they can express what they are going through.

While attending college, I was introduced to education and eventually began working as an assistant teacher. After graduating, I returned home to Chicago and continued working with elementary students on the West Side for the next five years.

One of the groups I worked with had already been given a reputation. I was told that three teachers had left because they were considered the "troubled" group and were "out of control." But I never saw them that way.

I saw scholars who didn't know how to regulate their emotions, express their needs, or did not pay attention because they were simply below grade level. I continued to work with every kid I came across. That group is now in fifth grade and has become one of the most complimented classes in the entire building. They have grown into students who demonstrate honesty, respect, appreciation for one another, and a genuine commitment to their education. Watching that transformation is one of the experiences that solidified why I do this work.

Throughout my time in education, I also found myself advocating for students who needed additional support but sometimes struggled to advocate for themselves. There were moments when my passion for protecting students caused tension with other staff members.

Eventually, I had to take a step back to protect myself from workplace conflict. But emotionally, it was difficult. I often felt like I was turning my back on the very students I wanted to protect.

Eventually, I was transferred to sixth grade to work with a class I had previously worked with. During that time, I had to confront just how much my own mental health had declined.

I did not want to leave my students or my work. But I had reached a point where I was taking five different medications simply to make it through the day. That was when I realized something important:

I've always felt that I could do more to help schools, families, educators, and students understand empathy, mental health, inclusion, and the experiences that often go unspoken.

I've always felt called to work with children and advocate for awareness. Eventually, the idea of creating children's books came to me.

Today, I have written two children's books focused on bringing awareness to important and often uncomfortable topics. My goal is to create books that help children and parents have conversations about subjects that are not always easy to explain.

I want my books to help children understand themselves and one another while also helping parents and educators better recognize and respond to children's needs.

Through writing children's books, I hope to give children the language to express experiences they may not always know how to communicate while encouraging empathy, confidence, inclusion, and acceptance.

How Your Support Will Help

With your help, I can turn these stories into professionally published books and get them into the hands of the children, families, and schools that need them.

Funds raised will help cover:

Professional illustration for future books rather than relying on AI-generated illustrations

Professional publishing and printing costs

ISBNs and publishing-related expenses

Hardcover and paperback inventory

Printing copies to donate to schools and educators

Getting these books into classrooms and communities that may not otherwise have access to them

My ultimate goal is bigger than simply publishing a book.

I want to build a collection of children's books that opens the door to conversations about topics children deserve to understand. I want these stories to reach classrooms, libraries, families, counselors, educators, and communities.

If you've made it this far, thank you. Thank you for taking the time to hear my story and learn about the vision behind this project.

Whether you donate, share this fundraiser, or simply support my journey, it means more to me than you know.

Any amount helps bring this vision one step closer to reality.

Thank you so much for believing in me and in the children these books are being created for.