What makes me a writer?

When I was eight years old, my third grade teacher submitted one of my class assignments to the local paper for publication.  It was a story about a girl, a corn husk doll, and the best Christmas ever (I borrowed heavily from the work of Laura Ingalls Wilder, my favorite author at the time).  I was so proud when I saw the story in the newspaper.  I was a writer. Writing came easily to me.