Passion for Poetry

Hello everyone! It’s the month filled with passion and romance. Hope you have great socially distant plans!

This month I plan to focus on TAOGOI and the upcoming book; we are getting so close, and I couldn’t be more proud of us!!! Abby and I actually met because I was looking for an artist. We have a mutual friend who, after talking about each other for years, finally introduced us and we have been great friends ever since.

You know what I haven’t always been great friends with? Reading and writing. I have always struggled to read despite being in a family of fairly avid readers. It wasn’t until a classmate in high school lent me a young adult book by Ellen Hopkins. She writes in poetry format, so there is a lot of blank space used. Suddenly I couldn’t put the book down; I could finally read!! I wasn’t lost when I was reading, I was totally engaged in reading about 8 or so of her books. My mom even started to worry about me because suddenly I was in my room all the time.

It wasn’t until much later, in about 2017, when I started to write poetry. It came by accident; I was trying to journal, but I couldn’t write my thoughts fast enough. I have always been a fan of handwriting my thoughts down, rather than typing. But my hands couldn’t keep up with my rapid paced mind, so I started to write in a way where I got the most information using minimal words; kind of like abstract sentences. Finally feeling free to use the entire page or only part of one. I haven’t looked back since.

I do feel like my thoughts came off as abstract to people; I have a habit of catching people off guard. A lot. So I’ve taken solace in my poetry. It’s how I’ve chosen to capture my experiences through this world. That’s why I chose to capture my experiences in poetry as I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2019. How could I not be inspired by all the views? Plus, nothing builds character and makes lessons stick harder like true hardships. Backpacking will definitely do the trick.

Inspired I was, and hope to always be inspired and in love with the PCT! I’m sure I will find ways to love other long distance trails when it’s time. Long Ass Section Hikers (LASHers) are always trying to find ways to enjoy the variety of long distance trails, just in our own way. A way I like to call Soul Bound (more about another time).

So that’s how I am falling in love with myself this year; loving how tough I am, while still keeping myself soft through poetry. It’s important to have a good balance, I feel. I hope you all find more balance in yourself this year!

Abby’s first post will be Sunday, so remember to check back in!!