What does being a part of the literary magazine The Creative Conductor mean to you?

One of the first emotions I felt when I published my first piece to The Creative Conductor was overwhelming happiness. For me being a part of The Creative Conductor holds a special place in my heart because when I was younger I always dreamed of having my poems published for others to see. Not to mention not a lot of Black authors and poets are able to get their work published so instead they share their work with their families in hopes of passing down that legacy. But through being able to publish my creative work I am able to create that legacy for those that can’t, that dream, and that wish others heard their message.

How has writing impacted you?

I’m going to be honest, in the beginning the only type of writing I remotely liked was poetry, so that’s the only piece of writing I wrote. Any time I wrote short stories or memoirs I would just completely scrap them because I was never confident in what I was writing when it came to those works. But soon as I allowed myself to just immerse myself in a different perspective, I realized that I loved all kinds of writing. Especially with being in a creative writing class, I realized that I needed to step outside of my comfort zone and just accept the challenge of writing something different.  Writing allowed me to become a more open person not just socially but emotionally as well. This allowed me to write more meaningful stories which represented my background and life lessons that I want to share with the world.

What advice do you have for upcoming creative writing students?

As a student that joined Creative Writing my senior year of high school, I would say if you’re the type of person that is closed off and prefers to stick to the things that make you comfortable: take this class. Because the assignments that we do open you up to a world of new experiences and openness that you might need in your life. Also, join this class earlier than when I did because you’re going to be upset that you only spent one semester in such a fun and welcoming environment.

Favorite high school memory? 

One of my favorite memories from high school is taking the Black And African American Studies class my junior year. I remember feeling a great sense of belonging and community. Especially when we would have our deeper discussions about certain topics in class; it felt like I was finally able to understand more about myself. We would sometimes joke around together about things, played fun card games, and enjoyed food that represented what Black And African American history represented to us. Not to mention Mrs. Diggs and everyone else that was in that class were super friendly and open to hearing differing perspectives. 

What are your plans after high school?  

My plan for after high school is to be the first in my family to attend a HBCU, the illustrious Fort Valley State University. At Fort Valley I will spend my four years studying psychology with plans to minor in Black and African American studies or Women’s studies. I hope that after college I will be able to work as a clinical research coordinator so that I can be involved in the process of studies which provide vital research on things affecting the health and mental health minority groups and people as a whole with diverse backgrounds.