Today, I was in an article for the Monterey Herald. I was interviewed more than a week ago by Juan Reyes and today the article was put up online and the newspaper was printed for this mornings cycle. The title of my article was called “Local Student to recite poem at Women’s Equality Day Celebration in Sacramento“. I will be going to the capital in the next coming week to perform my piece “The Way I Was Made” for the female caucus at Women’s Equality Day August 8. I never expected that my poetry would ever get me this far. I never thought that I could help people with only a few words. This opportunity has taken my world and spun it upside down. Suddenly, I have all these chances waiting for me to take. Chances that can help my community, my family, and me. It is hard to imagine what my life would hold without my friends and family and the guidance I have gotten from the adults around me. If you are reading this, I would also like to thank you. Every view gets me closer to these chances. Every like shows me that my work actually means something to people.
My work is personal and raw and I like to give my all to every audience that hears it. I want people to know that they are not as alone as they think. I want the past version of myself to see that we were never alone either. Things can not get better if we do not face the things that cause us to be unhappy. With poetry, I did. Instead of letting myself suffocate in the bad memories of my past I made art out of it. I hope I can teach people how to make something beautiful out of the things that once hurt them. This event in Sacramento is just a start to a new beginning and this blog documents every great thing that has happened and will happen in the future.
Kenya Burton Poetry 