Poetry
I know poetry is odd and sometimes off-putting to people. I still love it. As I once heard the great Christian Wiman say, "Sometimes people don't hear the music [that is poetry]. And that's okay."
I began writing poetry semi-seriously in the sixth grade when Mr. Luman, a retired rodeo star and all-around amazing teacher and human being, encouraged me to keep with it. He sent off my poems to be published and my first ever pay check was $10 for winning a bi-monthly contest with a poem.