I was in the 5th grade when I wrote my first poem ever. I wrote it on the bus going to school because I forgot to do it the night before for homework. That year in my school everyone in our class submitted poems to the newspaper and everyone's poem got published in it. Back then I didn't realize how much words could really impact something, back then it was just a homework assignment I forgot to do. Little did I know it would change who I am forever.
How poetry changed my life was a slow process I didn't even realize was happening. After writing that poem back in fifth grade I didn't pick up a pen to write another one until tenth grade. I was going through a difficult time and people tend to say keeping a journal helps to cope in times of disparity, so that's exactly what I tried to do. I wrote down how sad, angry, upset or confused I was every day and all I saw was exactly that: sadness, anger and confusion on a page staring back at me. I remember distinctly writing "No matter how long I look at this page I will never get an answer to my problems." I realized this was because all I was doing was writing down my problems not my possible solutions, so I decided to instead of writing down how I feel as simply as that, I decided to express how I feel through writing, two completely different things. Poetry has a way of awakening the soul. Whether it is reading it or writing it yourself poetry can make the simplest things sound beautiful. They add depth to a story, and once you develop a sense for poetry you can see it in everything. While the world is already beautiful, poetry allows you to see a little bit extra than you would without it.
When I decided it was time to pick up the pen and paper and add my print to the page again it was.. arbitrary. I had never felt like I needed to express myself in such a way ever in my life until that moment. I presented to my tenth grade English teacher, the head of the Literary Club at school, with a poem and I began to attend the club which was also connected to a performing arts competition, I practiced twice a week after school with all my friends to not only perfect the writing but to perform it- to add character and depth and a voice to the words on the page. To add my own voice to my own words was something magical. I remember practicing my piece at home, finally getting in-touch with the feelings I once had when I wrote the piece, and I cried mid-delivery. This was the moment I fell in love with my own words.
Art is a form of expression, it is you portrayed in some other worldly form, whether that is through drawing or painting or singing or writing or whatever it may be it is you, in its purest form. Art is the mind and soul coexisting on one canvas. It is expression and raw emotion put out into the world and is one of the most bravest and liberating things a human can do. It is like what they always say "Life is what you make of it" and art is your display.
