i began writing poetry when i was a sophomore at the university of michigan. it was for a class and we had to produce pieces. we did critiques and i spent time perfecting my craft.

i didn’t start writing poetry again until the next year. i remembered how much i enjoyed it and i just had so much to say. i wrote it all down. i started writing to think through things and to help me heal.

breaking down the process

getting started:

starting was easy- i had a lot to say. the thoughts were flowing and most of the time when i was upset, i would write.

editing:

i normally don’t edit my work. i allow the raw feelings to be processed through writing. for my book, i did a lot of editing. i wanted to ensure that my message was clear- that healing is: intentional, takes time and is so worth it. i had sent my manuscript to a few people to ensure this was true!

reflection:

by writing, i am able to see similarities in separate areas of my life. i believe all of what happens is to help you grow and seeing these patterns helped me decide how to act in the future.

topics:

my topics of poetry range. they’re mostly about my life. writing helps me process things that are going on and make sense of my emotions.

publication:

the road to publication was more internal than external. i had to get to the point where i was ready to share part of my story with the world.

healing:

writing has been so healing for me! it really gives me closure. writing allows me to remember where i have been and how far i have come! by seeing patterns i can make changes.

my book

writing:

i started writing over a year ago, after creating a subsection of my poetry to talk about love. i edited this piece a lot and one of my favorite things about it is the ambiguity of the situations mentioned.

the cover page:

i took the cover photo when my family was in miami this past christmas. we went to breakfast off the beach. i had went to that beach earlier, near the beginning of the creation of my book.

growing:

writing and editing helped me understand how much i have grown. i was able to identify patterns that had happened and used that knowledge to make different decisions moving forward.