Most teenagers today focus their lives around parties, friends and social lives.  The thought of a career is a distant prospect of what the future will hold. 
   However, at Holy Family High School, four students are getting a jump start on their futures.  Senior Maggie Read, junior Bianca Hernandez and sophomore Anna Montgomery are teens by succeeding in the publishing world.

Anna Montgomery: singing phenomenon
   Montgomery has dreamed of being a singer ever since she can remember.   With hard work and dedication, she has published three CDs, which includes accompaniment with vocalist Rhonda Gallagher. 
   She started her singing career in church choirs, then moved on to the Colorado Children’s Chorale, and she now participates in DYNAMIX, a teenage vocal performance group.  Montgomery said many doors have been opened up for her through these organizations, including the opportunity last year to sing a solo at Carnegie Hall in New York City. 
   Although Montgomery has performed in Kansas, Florida, Brazil and all over Colorado, her favorite spot to sing goes back to the basics.
   “My favorite practice spot, though, is still the shower!” said Montgomery. 
    According to Montgomery, the entire process of making a CD requires lots of time, patience and hard work.  Before going into the studio, Montgomery has to be very well-rehearsed and able to sing her songs almost flawlessly.
    “I have the drive to be the best I can be, so that pushes me to work at my singing,” said Montgomery. 
   Her three classical CDs are titled Nine Years Blessed, Going Places and A Sentimental Christmas.  And according to Montgomery, expect more to come. 
   Montgomery attributes her inspiration in singing to vocalists Gallagher, Mary Louise Burke and especially her parents. 
   Professionally singing has immensely added to Montgomery’s high school experience by giving her a sense of confidence and self-management, according to Montgomery. 
   “I used to be so terribly shy, but being onstage has changed that significantly,” said Montgomery. 
As of right now, Montgomery’s CDs can only be purchased from her directly, but once she gets her website running, the CDs will be sold online.
   “My biggest dream is to be able to touch the hearts and lives of many people through my singing,” said Montgomery. 

Maggie Read: astounding author
   “Basically you have to be at least a little bit crazy to write novels,” said Read.
   Her short stories “Vienna,” “Breakable” and “The Cure for Pain” were published in early 2007 through Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Publication.
   As with most children, Read got her start in the first grade when her writing topics centered mostly around cats, which according to Read was her favorite animal at the time.
  “I’ve told stories ever since I could talk,” said Read. “Of course, my writing and subject matter has matured in the past eleven years, but I still have the same dream of being a full-time writer.”
    Her writing process consists of coming up with an idea to base the story off and then she moves on to character development. 
  “This is the most difficult but also the most fun part of writing,” said Read. “Getting to know a character is like getting to know a new friend.”
She explains her characters as both forthcoming and easy to understand as well as complex and difficult.
   Read says that to right a compelling story the author needs to know his/her characters and treat them like they’re real.
   The final part of her writing process is editing. Her current novel has taken 30 rounds of editing.
   Her main focus is now on her novel, The Awakening. It is about a boy named William O’Shaughnessy from age 12 through his teenage years. It takes place in a supernatural universe. The Awakening includes a main theme of political intrigue. It is evolved around Will’s daily life, school, friendships and family issues.
   “My favorite part of my book is my characters; I know them as well as I know myself, and I love writing about them and learning about their lives,” said Read.
   Read will continue to work hard on her novel to reach her goal of being a full-time writer.
   “For me, writing is not a hobby or even something I want to do- it’s something I need to do. It’s like breathing- a necessary activity for healthy functioning,” said Read.

Bianca Hernandez: intriguing intern
   “It was enlightening and unforgettable; I wouldn’t change a thing about it,” said Hernandez when describing her internship at the Westminster Window this summer. 
   Although Hernandez didn’t have a specific job at the paper, she was still able to contribute her writing skills and regularly have a short section of her work published.
   Hernandez said, “I was so shocked they let me write anything, no matter how little.”
   According to Hernandez, her work consisted of interviewing four random people about a certain topic and documenting pictures of them in the paper.   
   As with most writers, Hernandez got her start at school. “Besides taking English classes, Creative Writing and Journalism, I don’t have much background in writing,” said Hernandez. “I really just wanted to pursue writing because I love it.”
   Because of her passion for writing and photography, Hernandez plans on considering journalism as an option for her future.  Her ultimate goal is to have a novel published. 
   “This experience was so fulfilling because I never expected to have anything published at my age,” said Hernandez.
   These teens have shown other Holy Family students that dreams can be achieved even at the high-school level.
 Benjamin Franklin once said, “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” These three students have found a way to do just that.