WEBVTT

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Welcome back another episode of Shit That's Just

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Life podcast with your favorite life coach, me,

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Cecile. I want you to know when it comes to this

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episode, some stories aren't said out loud, so

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they're written instead. This is This Poet's

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Dream by Rhonda Thompson. About your book, you

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seem a little down about the process. Be I try

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to do things I have enough distractions actually,

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you know, you always you have TV and I have a

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three -year -old And keep me distracted enough

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No, but I'm gonna get back into that yeah this

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poet's dream that you've written For listeners

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meeting you for the first time, how do you describe

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yourself beyond an author or a poet? A free -spirited

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woman with four children. I believe in God, you

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know, and everything of that nature. Okay, free

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spirit. Free -spirited is just meaning I'm comfortable.

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In my own skin. Yeah, I got I marched to the

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beat of my own drum Like if I hear music in the

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in the grocery store, I'm gonna dance if I like

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the song you're not afraid to try I'll say Right.

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I'll sing With the music like I'm not gonna just

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act like the music is not on that's the type

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of person I am. I always like writing. I was

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always good at it. Okay So I started writing

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it really in school And we would have to, they

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would have what you call free write in elementary

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school. And my teacher, Mr. Townsend, he always

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would brag about how I wrote things. And so that

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was very, that was very encouraging. He would

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just, I mean, rant and rave about how well I

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wrote things, my journal entries. So I started

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I guess a elementary school then when I got older

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I Always had journals. Okay, I will talk So I

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would express myself there Would you say that

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you use it to help with? depression state Writing

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your journal. I mean writing your poetry out

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on a full journal Yes, I will say that okay.

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I guess it's a good now I think now I do have

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journals, but a lot of it I put a lot of my poetry

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in the phone. Okay. I guess because it's right

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there and it just comes to me quickly and I have

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to think about going back and writing it down.

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Yeah. But I do enjoy, you know, how a pen feels

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in my hand is it like a sense of relief yes it's

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like i have all these things bottled up and when

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i write then boom it's like oh i can breathe

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now yeah it's like you're overly anxious and

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then the moment you get your hands on a pen and

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you can release and write it sounds like it calms

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you down Yeah, it does. Okay. Where did poetry

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first into your life and what did it give you

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at that moment? So If you can take a second When

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I was 17 and I was writing my feelings down but

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didn't realize I had written a poem Until I was

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done I felt accomplished and astonished It's

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17 Yes, um because I was writing about my dad

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About his drug addiction and About how I felt

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I can't remember the words or anything, but I

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do remember writing it I was like, wow, I wrote

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a poem. Was it like in the moment? Yeah, it was

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in the moment. It was in the moment. I didn't

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get out and pursue it, no. A little bit after

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that, I did some years later, but I didn't think

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I was good. And one day I got mad and just ripped

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up all the poems that I had. I really didn't

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get back into writing until It was about 2012,

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2013, I believe, because I had joined this writing

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group called Ignited Pens. And I found it on

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Facebook. And when I did that, and that's when

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I would, we would have writing prompts. And we'd

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get together, we'd write, and we'd write poems

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or just... writing about our day, she'd give

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us a prompt and we'd write it any way we felt.

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You didn't necessarily have to be a poet or anything

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of that nature. Just the fact that her... Her

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saying, I believe, I'm trying to remember. Her

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saying was, if you can write, you are a writer.

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Something like that. So she didn't want to discourage

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you on whatever level you were on. OK. So she

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tried to just encourage you. Yeah, whether or

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not you had been writing for a long time or a

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novice. I had been writing for a long time, on

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and off. Like I said, I stopped yeah, I didn't

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feel like I was good at it and But the the group

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say helped me And I'm trying to I can't remember

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when I really like really really got serious

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about it But I um, I did keep journals in 2013

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Mm -hmm. I had journals and I look back at them

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a lot of them. They were so dark. Mm -hmm I was

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angry. Yeah, I was really depressed really suicidal

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They've gotten better over the years I'm definitely

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a better a better way better writer And I used

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to be it's just it sounds like it's just like

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a form of communication for you The way that

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you want to communicate how you feeling whether

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that's good bad Suicidal, you know a form of

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communication versus actually Taking too many

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steps towards doing things. You just want to

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sounds like you had a good let out with using

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poetry Well, yes, well, you know, I was finding

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myself trying to figure out okay, what am I good

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at? I know my mom was a artist or still is artist

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and she would try to give me to you know draw

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like now that's not It wasn't fitting. Yeah Like,

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I find it, but that's not it. Writing, it just

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feel, it feel comfortable. It feel like I belong,

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you know, with writing. And so, you know, then

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as I would read other people's writing, I get

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inspired and I would write certain things and

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just write it the way I want it to write. I write

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things about Things I had been through yeah things

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I survived Living conditions. Yeah having kids

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how I felt about that I Write about love often.

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That's my favorite subject to write about So

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at what point did writing shift from a private

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practice to something that you want to share

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public publicly? It shifted when I joined the

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group, Ignited Pens. Okay. Because then I was,

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though it was intimate, it was still public,

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it was still more than one person and I'm sharing

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it too. Okay. And then we'd be in public spaces.

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I also remember one time we had an open mic night

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and other people that weren't in the group, you

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know, we invited people to come and they came.

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Where where are you? I'm in Kansas City, Missouri.

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I never Yeah, I'm currently in the United Kingdom.

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Oh Wow, okay, I'm from Kansas City, Missouri

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Okay, and put you in United Kingdom Wow, that

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is awesome So you just traveling I'm sorry, I

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switched it but I just traveled out here. My

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boyfriend is British. So he is the oh, okay.

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Yeah, so Wow, he's in the United Kingdom So that's

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what made me come out here to visit him and be

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a little more closer to him But I was still able,

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still wanted to be able to reach out to authors.

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I was reaching out to authors that were local,

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but I miss reaching out to just be a little more,

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a lot more broader and being in the States. Yeah.

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So yeah. That's what I, you know, that's why

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I hope to do, you know, that's when it started

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being more broad because I wanted to be heard.

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Definitely. I definitely like to be heard. If

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this conversation resonated with you, take a

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moment and sit with it. When you're ready, check

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out This Poet's Dream by Rhonda Thompson. You

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can find the links in the description. If you

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want to hear more conversations like this, subscribe,

00:11:15.269 --> 00:11:20.049
leave a comment. Tell us what moment stayed with

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you. With that being said, what sparked elaborate

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expressions? This poem's dream, was it one moment

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or did it kind of like slowly build? I started

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writing the poem, okay, so I started writing

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over the summer last year and I just kept writing.

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Every night I'd stay up till about five in the

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morning or later. Just keep writing poems, poems

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that I already had written down. So I was like,

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OK, well, that wouldn't sound right. So I'm editing

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my own work. I wasn't using an editor because

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I'm like, I don't need an editor. I know what

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I want to say. I know what I want to say. I know

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how I feel. And I don't want anybody to look

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at my work and say, no, it's not. No, it's. everything

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that I said I meant that yeah everything that

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I felt I felt it so I really no disrespect to

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editors but don't need one yeah yeah and I'm

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like I'm an English you know major I didn't graduate

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but that was my that was my major English and

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creative writing And so I'm like, well, you know,

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I have still have some of those books if I need

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to edit anything but That's what I mean. I'm

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just free -spirited because I like to just do

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my own thing my own way, you know And I didn't

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want nobody to tell me that I'm doing it wrong.

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That's what I liked about or still like about

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Poetry because there's no wrong way to do it.

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Yeah, that's what you feel then you write about

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that. If you felt a certain way about a flower

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that you saw, you write about that. So with elaborate

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expressions, actually, I was riding. I remember

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that day. I don't know what day it was, but I

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remember I was going to Wal -Mart. I was like

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what? Wal -Mart isn't a movie. I know, but I'm

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just saying like I was riding in the car and

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I kept trying to figure out names. that I wanted

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to use because I had basically started a writing

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service and I didn't know how good that would

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turn out. That was just a name I used. I liked

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it so I just started using it. What does it really

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represent emotionally for you? It represents

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the elegance I have. It represents a woman who

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was powerful, prolific, and uses her words elegantly.

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Is it just like a form for you? Like I say, it

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sounds like it's just like a way to communicate

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without speaking to the audience. It's a way

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to communicate in ways that most people don't

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because not everybody can write like that. Like

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most people will say, oh, that's red. No, that's

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not red. Rouge or that's yeah. Yeah, you know,

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yes, it's not No, it's not greatest headed blue.

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That's You know, the moonlight is twinkling.

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You know, it's calling out to me, you know, so

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y 'all can say it in so many ways that the normal

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person wouldn't even We probably wouldn't be

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able to You know, we'll be all miscombobulated

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before you know it so we wouldn't be able to

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really clarify How you say that properly? So

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I think that's very unique that you were able

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to put your own your own flavor to Your poetry.

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Well, actually I know that you know as you experience

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life Everybody doesn't experience the same thing

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because It's about, you know, maybe where you

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live, your choices, life situations. I would

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say it's not even just being in that different

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element. I think that what makes you overly,

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and I'm going to say overly, overly unique is

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because not only do you have these moments, these

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experiences, this journey that you're going through.

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You're choosing to put it in a form of words

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and then share the words. You get what I'm saying?

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So you could be going through what you're going

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through and just keep it to yourself and only

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share with the people that you come across. But

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no, you've decided to make it into a poetry.

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It just depends on. It just depends on what's

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going on. Yeah. because it depends on what's

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going on and where I'm at. Because like for example,

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like if I'm talking to a woman who has experienced

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things I have. So yeah, you know, you share then.

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Sometimes I just share because I have the platform

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to do so. I just, you know, just talk about.

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yourself and What you've gone through or what

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you are trying to still Accomplish in life. Yeah,

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as you never know, you know the person Maybe

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they haven't gone through it, but maybe they're

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going to go through it and they don't even know

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it Yeah, cuz I didn't know it, you know A lot

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of the things that I would Because A lot of the

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things that I've gone through, like I said, I

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didn't know that I would make it through it.

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You know, a lot of the things that I have been

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through, it seemed, in that moment, it seemed

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like it was over with and my life is just over,

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you know? So the fact that I'm here talking about

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a book that I wrote, Just a few months ago was

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just mind -boggling, really. Yeah, keep it going.

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And then, you know, talking to people like right

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now, you're in the United Kingdom. So that makes

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me feel like, wow, I've reached the United Kingdom.

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There you go. I mean, regardless if we are from

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the same place, it's like, wow. I think it's

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even better. My words. Even better. Yeah, my

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words. have just become international. The thing

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is that you got to know that, you know, God has

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a plan for you. That's just first things first.

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God has a plan for you. But second thing second,

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I came from I'm from born and raised from Kansas

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City, Missouri. So I know the trials and tribulations.

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I know what it's like to come out with a project

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and then just not the city, not be super receptive

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of. That project you get what I'm saying just

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the people in the community. So I know what it's

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like to start something Be a be a little nervous

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during the process Finally get it finished and

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then the outcome isn't what you expected. I know

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that process right? That's why I became a life

00:19:08.769 --> 00:19:15.210
coach What I can advise you is Don't let hope

00:19:15.210 --> 00:19:20.839
die. That's for sure secondly Pop up shops. That

00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:23.400
sounds like a plan. Yeah, don't let hope die

00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:27.380
Get out there do some pop -up shops. Let people

00:19:27.380 --> 00:19:29.700
know that you have a story that you're willing

00:19:29.700 --> 00:19:32.799
to share and Believe it or not somebody will

00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:36.400
read the book. You know what people have I've

00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:43.099
actually sold Well, I've sold over 30 books 32

00:19:43.099 --> 00:19:48.809
books I was surprised It don't be don't don't

00:19:48.809 --> 00:19:51.950
you know don't keep hoping I was okay, so in

00:19:51.950 --> 00:19:56.029
the beginning I was yeah first time In that moment

00:19:56.029 --> 00:19:58.970
like that was a big it was a big deal. It still

00:19:58.970 --> 00:20:06.460
is I still yeah like this no you can't you can't

00:20:06.460 --> 00:20:09.339
write like me not too many people can write like

00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:12.400
you not too many people can think like you and

00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:14.720
not too many people can articulate themselves

00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:18.859
like you i would say that i could definitely

00:20:18.859 --> 00:20:22.980
go toe to toe with authors who have or writing

00:20:22.980 --> 00:20:25.900
noun authors who have died it's good that i'm

00:20:25.900 --> 00:20:33.640
older now because now i can now i can um Now

00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:37.980
that I've experienced things, and I write differently,

00:20:39.140 --> 00:20:43.359
the depth of my writing, the soulfulness of my

00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:47.599
writing, the realness, the rawness of my writing,

00:20:49.140 --> 00:20:52.859
I can definitely, you know, I can speak to mothers,

00:20:53.059 --> 00:20:56.440
I can speak to suicide survivors, I can speak

00:20:56.440 --> 00:20:59.960
to rape survivors, I can speak to women who have

00:20:59.960 --> 00:21:05.970
been... through physical you know physical abuse

00:21:05.970 --> 00:21:09.789
did the book change direction or did it stay

00:21:09.789 --> 00:21:14.529
true to the original version like to the original

00:21:14.529 --> 00:21:18.150
vision that you have for that book i knew i didn't

00:21:18.150 --> 00:21:21.170
want it stayed true to it because i knew i wanted

00:21:21.170 --> 00:21:25.450
to use my pen name okay i know i want to use

00:21:25.450 --> 00:21:30.160
elaborate expressions um the picture that's on

00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:35.660
there is of a woman in the shadows. And she has

00:21:35.660 --> 00:21:39.259
this old school microphone, you know, like the

00:21:39.259 --> 00:21:41.460
ones that they use, like Billie Holiday would

00:21:41.460 --> 00:21:45.480
sing with and other singers from the 30s and

00:21:45.480 --> 00:21:49.500
40s, even 50s, the old microphones that they

00:21:49.500 --> 00:22:00.759
used back then. So I used that. I knew that I

00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:03.680
knew I didn't want a regular table of contents.

00:22:03.799 --> 00:22:05.980
I knew I didn't want a regular table of contents.

00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:09.960
Yeah. I knew I wanted to use different fonts

00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:13.680
for my book. So you had it all laid out. You

00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:16.420
had a full visual. Yeah, I knew that it was going

00:22:16.420 --> 00:22:18.380
to be out the box. I knew I didn't want nobody

00:22:18.380 --> 00:22:22.759
to tell me what to do, how to do it. I knew I

00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:25.339
was going to just stop writing when I wanted

00:22:25.339 --> 00:22:27.380
to. Okay. When I couldn't think of nothing else

00:22:27.380 --> 00:22:32.319
to say. No pause. Yeah, I knew how I wanted the

00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:37.440
introduction to be you know, so everything that

00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:43.900
I wrote it was true to Rhonda and So for that

00:22:43.900 --> 00:22:48.460
I'm proud of that because I Didn't ask too many

00:22:48.460 --> 00:22:52.759
people How I should do the book. I just knew

00:22:52.759 --> 00:22:57.000
that I needed to write the book Rhonda what did

00:22:57.000 --> 00:23:00.349
this project acts of you emotionally? that you

00:23:00.349 --> 00:23:06.369
didn't expect it asked of my focused rawness

00:23:06.369 --> 00:23:11.890
depth it asked of my best okay were you ready

00:23:11.890 --> 00:23:19.349
to give that openly i was okay it was my it was

00:23:19.349 --> 00:23:22.269
what i felt was my best then when it actually

00:23:22.269 --> 00:23:26.910
came out i was like wow i like this poem wait

00:23:26.910 --> 00:23:31.430
i wrote this I like this book. I wrote this book,

00:23:31.430 --> 00:23:34.309
you know, so. Surprised by your own work. Okay,

00:23:34.349 --> 00:23:38.069
I like that. Yeah. Because I'm, you know, it's

00:23:38.069 --> 00:23:40.190
just like you just sit there and you're reading

00:23:40.190 --> 00:23:41.990
something. You're like, wait a minute. Yeah.

00:23:42.089 --> 00:23:44.569
I wrote, okay, yeah. She said, that's all me.

00:23:44.650 --> 00:23:49.430
Oh my gosh. Yeah. Yep. Was there a poem that

00:23:49.430 --> 00:23:51.990
you hesitated to include because it felt too

00:23:51.990 --> 00:23:54.849
personal when you were writing or were you just

00:23:54.849 --> 00:24:03.380
reviewing? I didn't exclude any poems. Okay.

00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:07.319
Everything was - I wanted and needed the truth

00:24:07.319 --> 00:24:11.900
to be heard. Okay. Alright, I like that. So you

00:24:11.900 --> 00:24:17.500
didn't really hold back. No, no. I know that,

00:24:17.500 --> 00:24:23.440
you know, you can write things and, you know,

00:24:23.500 --> 00:24:26.059
I know you got to be, you know, pretty careful

00:24:26.059 --> 00:24:29.680
these days because you can get - You know blocked

00:24:29.680 --> 00:24:33.779
yeah won't let you your book be sold, but I knew

00:24:33.779 --> 00:24:37.000
that it was enough Truth in there that it would

00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:39.160
be sold without being you know without it being

00:24:39.160 --> 00:24:42.039
a problem Because it wasn't like it's not too

00:24:42.039 --> 00:24:45.039
graphic. I don't do too graphic one too graphic

00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:49.039
and one too sexual You stated if you wanted your

00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:52.359
you wanted to be heard You know you wanted everything

00:24:52.359 --> 00:24:56.599
to just be let out you wanted to be heard you

00:24:56.599 --> 00:24:59.980
wanted to release How do you protect your creative

00:24:59.980 --> 00:25:03.680
voice while still inviting readers into your

00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:07.440
inner world? You protect your voice by being

00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:10.599
yourself. You don't change to be popular or for

00:25:10.599 --> 00:25:15.779
fame. If you don't believe in it, you don't create

00:25:15.779 --> 00:25:18.119
it. Especially as an author, is that what you're

00:25:18.119 --> 00:25:22.599
saying? Even as a person, I don't write about

00:25:22.599 --> 00:25:25.920
what I don't believe in. That's, you know, political

00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:31.920
or... views, you know, of that nature. So if

00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:33.859
it's something I don't believe in, I don't write

00:25:33.859 --> 00:25:36.380
about it. Are you always comfortable with just

00:25:36.380 --> 00:25:39.000
exposing the parts that you're ready to expose?

00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:42.740
Yeah, you gotta be. I mean, you just gotta do

00:25:42.740 --> 00:25:46.700
it. You can't care because at the end of the

00:25:46.700 --> 00:25:50.460
day, it's who you are. There are people who do

00:25:50.460 --> 00:25:52.740
wrong things all the time and they don't care

00:25:52.740 --> 00:25:57.079
if they do it wrong. Yeah. I'm a person that

00:25:57.079 --> 00:26:00.880
even though I care about being right or wrong,

00:26:01.700 --> 00:26:04.460
creativity, you know, if you're talking about,

00:26:04.700 --> 00:26:08.319
oh, I was abused or, you know, somebody might

00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:11.279
need to hear that or you might need to just get

00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:15.880
it out or expose that so you can grow, so you

00:26:15.880 --> 00:26:20.400
can heal, so you can forgive. I wrote these things

00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:23.130
because that's how it happened. It's what I had

00:26:23.130 --> 00:26:26.329
in me, you know, sometimes it gets to be too

00:26:26.329 --> 00:26:30.490
much and you got to let it out. And that was

00:26:30.490 --> 00:26:34.789
the best. Yeah, right. And you know, because

00:26:34.789 --> 00:26:37.869
you can lash out, but if you lash out in a way

00:26:37.869 --> 00:26:41.329
that's not productive, you're going to get in

00:26:41.329 --> 00:26:44.230
trouble. You know, that's why people end up in

00:26:44.230 --> 00:26:47.170
jail or, you know, doing things that they regret

00:26:47.170 --> 00:26:50.690
doing because they couldn't get it out in a healthy,

00:26:50.890 --> 00:26:57.539
wholesome way. Yes. I can understand why it's

00:26:57.539 --> 00:27:01.259
better than turning to any other remedy. Safer

00:27:01.259 --> 00:27:05.900
to just turn into drugs or talk to somebody that

00:27:05.900 --> 00:27:09.960
isn't fully listening to you, you know? And it's

00:27:09.960 --> 00:27:14.059
kind of like a small little synchrony for you.

00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:18.390
You know? You feel safe. You nobody's judging

00:27:18.390 --> 00:27:21.789
you. Nobody can tell you how to say it, you know,

00:27:22.049 --> 00:27:25.789
and typically Yeah, I wonder just on a personal

00:27:25.789 --> 00:27:30.369
note when it comes to writers and authors Do

00:27:30.369 --> 00:27:32.809
you keep the phrase? It's not what you say how

00:27:32.809 --> 00:27:34.829
you but it's how you say it Do you keep that

00:27:34.829 --> 00:27:38.130
in mind when writing or do you kind of just release?

00:27:38.750 --> 00:27:42.009
To the best of how you want to release You know,

00:27:42.009 --> 00:27:44.130
are you are you cautious about what you write?

00:27:44.329 --> 00:27:49.589
Well, okay, so Okay, so basically, when I'm telling

00:27:49.589 --> 00:27:53.029
a story, I make sure it's mine to tell. Okay.

00:27:53.650 --> 00:27:55.829
Like if something else, like if something happened

00:27:55.829 --> 00:27:58.630
to somebody else, I wouldn't tell their story.

00:27:58.809 --> 00:28:02.549
That's theirs to tell. Yeah. So I'm cautious

00:28:02.549 --> 00:28:05.829
with that. But if I'm saying, oh, this happened

00:28:05.829 --> 00:28:09.990
to me, am I cautious that the story is out? No,

00:28:09.990 --> 00:28:12.549
because you did that. I might not use your name,

00:28:12.549 --> 00:28:16.390
but you did it. You did. So yeah, I'm going to

00:28:16.390 --> 00:28:21.450
say this person did that to me. But as far as

00:28:21.450 --> 00:28:25.690
what they did to somebody else or putting things

00:28:25.690 --> 00:28:29.390
out there that don't need to be. Writing it,

00:28:29.430 --> 00:28:34.589
you don't want the drama. You want to write in

00:28:34.589 --> 00:28:37.809
such a way where... It brings you peace and it

00:28:37.809 --> 00:28:40.230
brings other people peace. Yeah, like for example,

00:28:40.410 --> 00:28:42.789
they feel relieved like oh, this is good and

00:28:42.789 --> 00:28:46.950
oh my goodness I felt that I understand it I

00:28:46.950 --> 00:28:50.410
can or Wow, I never thought about it like that.

00:28:50.450 --> 00:28:52.950
So y 'all would always want to you know, write

00:28:52.950 --> 00:28:57.230
about stuff that I can love and not hate and

00:28:57.230 --> 00:29:01.609
not You know to where I'm just having to Explain

00:29:01.609 --> 00:29:05.490
myself. Are there specific conversations that

00:29:05.490 --> 00:29:09.039
you hope to hear from this book from readers?

00:29:09.779 --> 00:29:14.940
I hope that people just say things like, wow,

00:29:15.220 --> 00:29:18.920
this woman has overcome so much. She's inspiring.

00:29:18.920 --> 00:29:24.220
I want her autographs. Who do you imagine reading

00:29:24.220 --> 00:29:28.660
this book while you're writing it? Who do you

00:29:28.660 --> 00:29:34.519
imagine? Do you think of your inner child? I

00:29:34.519 --> 00:29:38.559
imagine. Right into my younger self. Yeah and

00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:43.500
to my kids. Okay So your inner child is what

00:29:43.500 --> 00:29:47.220
opens you up into just wanting to express Well,

00:29:47.220 --> 00:29:49.500
just looking back at my younger self and how

00:29:49.500 --> 00:29:53.460
I really didn't ever Really accept myself didn't

00:29:53.460 --> 00:29:58.839
ever like myself my lips everything that lips

00:29:58.839 --> 00:30:05.230
skin color Just who I was you know the fact that

00:30:05.230 --> 00:30:09.430
I was different that I was a writer and everything

00:30:09.430 --> 00:30:14.289
creative yeah things that I didn't accept that

00:30:14.289 --> 00:30:18.849
I accept now does it uh help I want to say help

00:30:18.849 --> 00:30:21.910
here help heal the things you felt as a child

00:30:21.910 --> 00:30:25.549
or is it just more of a understanding as to this

00:30:25.549 --> 00:30:28.640
is why I felt this as a child Okay. I mean, as

00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:31.519
far as like, it's just an acceptance. It's like,

00:30:31.640 --> 00:30:34.900
okay, I'm older. Yeah. I got through these things.

00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:38.700
It's just accepting it. Like, just showing myself

00:30:38.700 --> 00:30:42.299
love that I didn't, you know, back then. But

00:30:42.299 --> 00:30:45.279
no, as far as, you know, trying to figure it

00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:48.160
out. Like, oh, what would you have done differently?

00:30:48.299 --> 00:30:51.099
No, I was just, you know, just embracing myself.

00:30:51.400 --> 00:30:54.599
It's not an easy journey for us lovely black

00:30:54.599 --> 00:30:58.400
women. It's not an easy journey. It's something

00:30:58.400 --> 00:31:00.660
that we all have to persevere through every day.

00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:05.420
So as long as you make it a plan and you stay

00:31:05.420 --> 00:31:07.200
true to yourself and do things you love to do

00:31:07.200 --> 00:31:09.279
to express yourself, like doing your poetry,

00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:13.019
I think you'll be just fine. You're already in

00:31:13.019 --> 00:31:16.920
the United Kingdom. And you know what I'm saying?

00:31:17.259 --> 00:31:20.059
You're here without being here. Things that make

00:31:20.059 --> 00:31:25.079
you happy. me certain hobbies specifically, you

00:31:25.079 --> 00:31:28.759
know, so if you have your hobby is writing or

00:31:28.759 --> 00:31:31.460
Talking to the next person giving them advice

00:31:31.460 --> 00:31:34.579
on hey, I've been there been through that You

00:31:34.579 --> 00:31:36.599
can still get through it. I think especially

00:31:36.599 --> 00:31:40.160
if it's done via poetry That's just the sweetest

00:31:40.160 --> 00:31:42.859
way that you can deliver a message You know,

00:31:42.920 --> 00:31:46.660
you can't get no nicer than that If this conversation

00:31:46.660 --> 00:31:49.779
resonated with you Take a moment and sit with

00:31:49.779 --> 00:31:55.150
it When you're ready, check out This Poet's Dream

00:31:55.150 --> 00:32:00.369
by Rhonda Thompson. You can find the links in

00:32:00.369 --> 00:32:03.609
the description. If you want to hear more conversations

00:32:03.609 --> 00:32:08.210
like this, subscribe, leave a comment. Tell us

00:32:08.210 --> 00:32:10.690
what moment stayed with you.