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Introduction to Reading and Poetry
I was extremely fascinated with words and books! My first book was Green Egss and Ham by Dr. Suess. I learned how to sound out words by watching Sessame Street. When I received the book Green Eggs and Ham, I loved it s much, I read it over and over! I memorized the book because it rhymed. This was when I realized that I loved poetry, however, I didn't know that it was poetry. -
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Creativity Life Map
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Writing my first Poem
I beleive that I was approximately 10 years old when I wrote my first poem. I found a poem that was written to my sister from a boy that liked her. I realized that I could write a poem about love, and that all poems weren't stories in a book (Dr. Suess books). I wrote a poem about "love" or what I thought was love! I liked a boy, I wrote a poem to him, just as my sisters friend wrote to her, BUT I DIDN'T GIVE MY POEM TO MY LOVE INTEREST! LOL -
Losing my Great Grandmother
My great grandmother passed away at 86 years old. She died so peacefully. She was tired and "ready to go". She took her last breath. The coroner came to pick up her body. I remember the peace that came over my grandmother, she didn't have to see her mother suffer anymore. The sun was shining so bright that day. My great grandmother was the sunflower and we were her seeds. My first "real" poem was titled "I plant a seed above the sun". I wrote the day of her death and recited it at her funeral. -
Realizing that I am a creative writer
My uncle passed away a couple years after my great grandmother and my family members asked me to write another beautiful poem for my uncle. This poem was published in my small towns "mini mag". I can't even remember the title, I just know that my creativity was being noticed. I also knew that I had poems written that I never intend to share! I had been writing my emotions in poems for quite some time now. -
Rap, Rhymes, Hip Hop, Poetry
Hip Hop and rap was always a large part of my culture. I was writing poetry and I was also writing raps. I begin to save all of my work and created my first poetry/rap binder that I titled "A Way To Write and Relieve". After rapping at college parties, I was asked to rap in our college talent show. This was my first performance that wasn't at a funeral. -
Struggle with depression
I struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts for a large percentage of my life. Writing poetry helped me heal through my depression. I would write to releive my pain. It was temporary, but it was extremely theropuetic. I wrote a poem titled "Road to Recovery". This poem has helped people in my life recovery from many things. -
Introduction to spoken word
A new era of performing had hit the scence. It was called spoken word. There were open mic events where people would read their poems to share. The first time I attended one of these events, a lady performed a real deep poem about her struggles. I couldn't beleive she was sharing such emotions! But it was healing for many in the audiance. I decided that I would share some of my work, but not any of my emotional work. I performed one of my poems at the spoken word event! They loved it! -
Love, Life, Relationships Spoken Word Performance
A local bar owner started to host open mic nights. I would share my spoken word there often. Many people would come and watch me speak and request favorites. This is when I became more comfortable performing in front of an audiance. I was then asked for one of my poems about infidelity called "Steping Out" to head line a spoken word play called Love, Life and Relationships. It was exciting! We put the whole performance together within a month and tickets sold out! -
Opening for Queen Latifah with my spoken word!
My small City of Evansville Indiana holds a diversity conferance every year. The speaker was Queen Latifah! She wanted two local spoken word artists to open for her. My city chose me to be her opening performance! I was so honored. I was able to meet and have a conversation with one of my favorite artists! This was one of my most major opportunities that my creative writing allowed me to do. Such a humbling experiance.
