So I’ve started putting together the poems that I’ve written, placing them in a cohesive order. Just getting in the moment of organizing the pieces of work has been quite enjoyable, but there have been certain aspects that are less to be desired. The first thing is a formation on certain companies that assist with self publishing. Before I list where I’ll be conducting my work, I think it’s best that I discuss the work that I’m writing about. Foremost, my poems are all in interpretation. That’s the main thing, and this is what I’ve enjoyed overall in this project. 

The subjects that I’ll be covering is:

Self-Love

Self-love will be the main topic, I don’t think that this topic will ever tire out, because as cliche as it may sound (not to me), we all need to love ourselves first, before anyone else. So many of us have different ways of how we can do this while also sharing our unique experiences. For me, I not only had to look within myself on my experiences, but also listen to the surrounding people. It’s all in a combination of experiences, mended in a pot of art therapy for me.

Mental Health

Self-love and mental health are twins in a family, but sometimes this is often ignored. It’s never a tiring subject, nor does it make anyone weak. It takes a lot of bravery to speak about the experiences, heartbreaks, and the wins that we experience. Part of why I included this topic was because of my diagnosis with Epilepsy and also the Pandemic.

Love

Love can be romantic, but also having love for family, friends, a pet… etc. I also put myself in a space of thought about who I’d react to certain things and feelings. It’s a scary thing to be vulnerable no matter what. To show that part of yourself to anyone, including family, can be daunting yet rewarding. But first you have to look within yourself first before opening up to anyone else… because of the self-acceptance.

Identity

Everyone is something unique about them. For me, this is something that I wanted to explore, and share my experience, as a black woman, and someone who now has an invisible disability. This topic is based on what I’ve been through as a child, a teenager and now. It’s not necessarily to point specific fingers to one person, but as a collective… especially with society and the media. It’s also a sum of the other topics blended in together. Think of it as a dash of self-love, the focus or mental health, and loving others as the ingredients, identity as the equation… the cake of it all.

I don’t know if this will reach any audience, yet alone a large one, and I don’t care. All that I know is that at the end of this project, I will feel proud of myself for doing it. I believe in my work. I’m not sure how everyone will view it or critique it, but I’ve done a lot of critiquing myself, so I’m ready to put it out there. It’s also quite daunting and surreal at the same time. It may just get an audience from my family and friends, and I’ll be fine with that. But there is the possibility that it could reach to some sort of another target… who knows? Overall, I’ll be happy with whatever. No matter what, if it reaches one person who is positively affected by my work, that’s the main reward for me.