LEREEN
| always felt like writing was something that was calling me and I noticed that when | would write, my soul would light up and become very excited. I like the feeling that I get from writing so I kept doing it to get the feeling, and then I started getting a lot of positive responses from it. I also like how I was able to influence people to have different thoughts on everyday experiences like love, relationships, trauma, healing and self care.
Warsan Shire is one poet out of many who inspires me. Her work is so raw and unfiltered when it comes to discussing everyday experiences like the ones I've already mentioned. I'm very inspired by how she includes her culture in her work. A lot of the writers I am inspired by are from African descent and a lot of that is weaved in to their poetry and it kind of gives me an idea of what their cultural experiences are like, it makes me feel likeI am apart of the culture as well when I read their work.
I want people who read my work to feel inspired to live honestly. I want them to feel inspired to start their healing journey. I want them to see greatness in themselves. I want them to feel my heart when they read my work... I just want them to feel like they're apart of a movement where women and people are unapologetically living their life through the place of healing. Overall I want my work to inspire and heal. I want people to read my work and know that despite whatever experiences they had that they can come back up from it. I want people to read my work and see themselves in the stories I tell while seeing different versions of themselves from beginning to end.
I feel like I'm the closest to God when I'm writing. For me, poetry is a lifeline it’s the thing that connects me to whatever higher power is out there it's the thing that connects me the most to myself. When I write my entire spirit lights up! Some people get that feeling from many forms of art and spiritual practices, but for me, writing is my deepest form of prayer.
Something that has really shaped my mental growth is being able to overcome some of my life challenges. In some aspects I've had a good upbringing but a lot of negative experiences came with that, and if i allowed it, it would have had the ability to completely destroy me. I wouldn't even be here today if I allowed those experiences to have a negative impact on me. I took the time I needed and did the work to heal, going to therapy really helped me confront the issues that I had in my past. I would say those experiences not necessarily caused me to be better but my ability to heal from them have shown me that I'm a very resilient woman, and because I overcame all those things in the past, I have no doubt that I can overcome other hardship in the future.
What really keeps me focused is my connection to God. I feel like once God places an idea in my heart my job is to show up and just execute these ideas. I know that once I execute the idea that God has placed in my mind, heart and spirit there is no doubt that it will be successful. My focus comes form knowing that the work I was called here to do is very purposeful; I don't do anything because I think it's popular, I do it because I genuinely believe it’s my purpose and my life work. In everything I do from my poetry to my other initiative (Black Mental health Visibility @BMHV) they're all purposeful work, because I know the purpose is bigger than myself, I am able to focus and show up to the calling.
I would really let her know that you're gonna be okay, and everything that is happening...everything that you don't understand, the things that you can't stop… the things you don't think you have the ability to stop... life is going to figure itself out and you're going to be okay. I know you're feeling frustrated and unloved unsupported and you don't know if life is going to work out for you, but you're going to be fine there's a big life waiting for you here that you don't even know about and you're gonna look back and make yourself really proud.
Follow Lereen: @BMHV