Vienna's Kirsten Carl Published in Highlights Magazine

Last year, when Kirsten Carl's teacher handed back a poetry writing assignment, her teacher pointed out, "this one was particularly good."

The comment stuck with Kirsten and she decided to submit the poem to one of her favorite magazines, Highlights, to see if it might be published.

Kirsten and her family were thrilled to receive a letter nearly a year later, saying the poem would be in the June 2013 issue.  Highlights magazine said it receives more than thirty five thousand submissions each year.

The third grader at Wolftrap Elementary school has received awards at school for poetry and has a strong interest in writing poetry and short stories, her mother Leslie Carl said.

"We were particularly excited to see the magazine in our optometrists' office recently and he asked Kirsten to autograph it for him," Carl said.

Aside from writing, Kirsten is also interested in dance, soccer, theater and Girl Scouts.

Will this inspire her to submit more of her writings to publications?

 "Yes, absolutely," Carl said.

The poem is entitled "Paint" and was published in Highlights' "Your Own Pages" section.

The poem is below.

"Paints" by Kirsten Carl

Paint is a splash of color,

A drop of artistic feelings and moods,

Colors to inspire you.