I first knew I was a writer when I first wrote a personal experience story back in the fourth grade and it touched people. The story was about the passing of my great grandmother that occurred in 2012. I talked about how she waited until I and my family left to close her eyes and the aftermath.
As my teacher Ms. McBeth was reading my story, my classmates were crying and paying close attention to every word that was written down. At that moment, I knew that I was capable of being able to inspire and voice my experiences to others who may or may have not experienced what I did.
These days, I write about topics about depression, anxiety, sexual assault, broken homes, feeling unwanted, mental illness, etc. I focus on topics I could relate to or that I was close in contact with. SLA has been a welcoming place for me as a poet because the staff and students allow me to develop a safe and welcoming space to write and to create what I see, am feeling, or something that inspired me in that particular moment. I love writing because it helps bring out the creative and emotional side that people don’t get to see when communicating with me. You wouldn’t know my true capability and creativity until you give me a pencil and lined paper.
What I enjoy most and value about SLA literary culture is how it allows students to have freedom of speech and gives students a chance to explore who they are and what they want to do. Being able to speak your opinion without judgment is very important and needed and SLA has that. When speaking your opinion or writing about something that you find important, knowledgeable, worthy, etc your response is respected and nobody tries to change that. Although one may disagree, they will still hold your opinion as valuable and important.
For all of these reasons, I’m happy that the school is reviving its literary magazine because it gives upcoming artists and writers a way to express who they are. It’s sometimes difficult for a writer or artist to find a comfortable and safe place for them to show what they are skilled at and their perspective on things.
Students have voiced and expressed who they are through art and writing! The fourth floor was established at SLA as a way to help students communicate and understand who they are through skills of writing, poetry, storytelling, art, and many more skills that students have within them that are yet to be shown. Art and the forms of writing play an important role for people especially students because it demonstrates how the skill desaturates differently in each student and how each student uses the skill in everyday life. Art forces humans to look beyond what is necessary to survive and leads people to create their own expression and understanding of the world. I found interest in the fourth floor when a senior came to my adviser which is on the second floor and introduced this fascinating and great establishment that once fell but was risen again through the determination and motivation of the Rocket family. What I enjoy most and value about SLA literacy is how it allows students to have freedom of speech and gives students a chance to explore who they are and what they want to do. Being able to speak your opinion without judgment is very important and needed and SLA has that. When speaking your opinion or writing about something that you find important, knowledgeable, worthy, etc your response is respected and nobody tries to change that. Although one may disagree, they will still hold your opinion as valuable and important. When it comes to art you are open to exploring areas of art you may or may not know about. The concept of being able to explore is what’s important in arts at SLA because you are given the opportunity to take a path in arts that interests you and you are supported on your choice.
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