This Is What A Poet Looks Like

We all remember growing up and people (mostly unknowingly) pushing that if you picture a nurse you see a woman, but see a man when thinking of a doctor. But luckily that sexism is changing. Because in every area there are prejudices about who is or should be something. That only rich people deserve vacations. Or only the well educated can have well-paying jobs. Sexism, racism, and classism runs rampant.

The most recent thing I had to change my thinking of was when a poet was. I never read it when I was younger. And those in college who read it and wrote it were very different to who I was. Someone who was more privileged and more sophisticated. Neither thing I ever felt I had. It wasn’t until I was in college that I knew there were famous black poets (thanks American education for never telling me about Maya Angelou. It took a Tyler Perry movie.) Those kinds of people were more “high-brow”. They had a certain class to them that I just didn’t have.

I never told anyone when I started writing poetry. I have been journaling since my teens and sometimes I would just write some in the middle of the other things in there. Other times something would come to me randomly and I’d write it on scrap paper or the margin of school notebooks. Other then librarians and bookstore workers seeing my read a little of the poetry books no one knew I even liked it. But I told no one. Never say a reason. I’m very private in a lot of the things I do and believe. But I also thought I wasn’t really the demographic of who should be consuming poetry.

So it came as a real surprise to most the people in my life when I said I was publishing a poetry book a few months before. (Don’t talk to me about telling people things in advance, I barely marketed the book 2 weeks before I published it.) I just wanted to share what I wrote. It actually took me a while to even say I am a poet. Because I didn’t think I fit that title.

But that was something I had to work through most of my life. I did not think I was very creative most of my life. I got pushed a lot in school to focus on science and technology (go for the money). Or that I could make money being creative. Then it was that I didn’t have what it took to a small blog, or side hustle. Then it was actually having a business. Then a writer (which pushed to feeling like an imposter because I only wrote short blog posts, then I was only a non-fiction writer. I’m still working on the fiction writer part.). It took me a year to even get my first podcast episode recorded. And I just started recording and post Youtube videos.

So, to say I had a lot of things I’ve worked on is an understatement. Now I can say I’m all those things and I’m proud of it. I am a writer and author. I am a creator and podcaster. I run two businesses. I make money being a creative and I am happy with what I do. And now I am a poet and can say this with confidence. This is what a poet looks like.