Kashvi Ramani, a sophomore on the entrepreneurship pathway at AET, released her very first book in July of this year. 

Kofi Chronicles follows the story of a high-achieving middle schooler, Kofi (pronounced like “coffee”), who has many aspirations for her career. In the book, Kofi decides to attend an acting camp and immediately falls in love with the industry. However, Kofi faces many points of self-doubt and insecurity. At one point, she doesn’t get the part she wants and blames herself for not being good enough. In the end, Kofi learns to overcome her fear of failure and becomes more confident in her skills. Ramani calls the book “semi-autobiographical,” as it reflects her own life as an Indian-American and a professional actor. 

Ramani hopes that kids will learn to follow their dreams after reading her book, just as Kofi did. 

“Originally, I made it for others my age,” she said, “but I quickly realized that when it comes to following your dreams, finding your path, getting motivated- it’s something that little kids need to hear the most.” 

Just like Kofi had self-doubts about her acting, Ramani also struggled with her writing. Eventually, she was able to nail the perfect story. 

“I didn’t share it with anyone, because I didn’t want any outside feedback until I’d written enough drafts to where I was proud of it,” she said. 

Ramanialso learned that a lot of the skills she learned at the Academies came in handy with the writing and publishing process. 

“I was able to use those marketing, business promotion, and product development skills that I picked up from my entrepreneurship elective,” she said. “Without being at the Academies, it would’ve been so difficult to manage.” 

Ramani had some final words for the ACL community. 

“I want this [book] to be a motivator, especially for kids at the Academies, because of their heavy workload and this difficult time coming back from COVID. If you want to feel more energized and represented in the books that you read, purchase this for a younger family member or friend, or even just yourself. You can find it on Amazon or DM me through Instagram @kashviramani.”

 

written by Sarasi Rout

edited by Keerthi Selvam and Tryphena Pilli