Hello, my name is Ananya and I’m 15 years old. For my personal project, I have written a book of short stories which represent members from the LGBTQ+ community. The short stories take you through the struggles that the main characters face in the Indian society as well as their journey of self acceptance and love.

The reason I chose this topic is because the LGBTQ+ community in India isn’t very well known and the whole idea itself is still a taboo. The community is looked down upon and treated very differently then the rest of us. Even though being gayhas been legalised in India it’s still considered very “new”. I hope that this book not only raises awearness on this topic but shows how all of us are the same and at the end of the day being in love with someone “different” isn't a bad thing. I also curated the stories in such a way where there is no defined target audience but something for all age groups. I hope that someone out there who reads my book could maybe look at their present or past instances and find some connection to the characters and the storyline.

This project had started as a mere submission for school but it ended up becoming a passion of mine and I realised that this was something I would want to continue in the long run. I developed my writing skills, research skills and overall thinking skills. My creativity was put to the test when writing my stories and after I had finally finished I could see an improvement in my thinking process and the way I wrote. Overall I have improved majorly in personal and professional ways because of this project.