Words were my first
love. Telling stories, capturing emotion, and sparking ideas has always been my
primary goal as a creative person.
Topics that are
continuously present in my writing include concepts of womanhood, love,
relationships, race relations, freedom, and human rights. My goal is to create
an open dialogue about race, class, sexuality, as well as other socioeconomic
and biological factors that affect the human condition. If I make a positive change in someone's life through my writing, I'll know I'm successful.
I’ve been heavily
influenced by authors like Richard Wright, Walter Mosley, and Sister Soulja
mainly because they all made me look at life in a more enlightened way while
not making me feel alienated or ignorant—I both laughed and cried when I read their
books, and I think that's what a lot of artists strive to do with their work.
Moreover, I think
it’s important to understand how people interact to create loving bonds as well
as broken homes (like the one I came from), and I believe it’s imperative
people realize that everyone deserves to make decisions about who they love and
what they want to do with their bodies. Every time I write a blog post or
article, I aim to stress autonomy. (Whether my topic is about why we all should care about government surveillance or about how to help a friend out of an abusive relationship.)
When I write, I
think a lot about why I deserve to have “authority” on the things I discuss.
Besides using facts, I employ the range of my identities and life experiences
to add to the discussions. (Or in other words, I’m known as an
“oversharer.” I seldom think about things coming back to haunt me years from
now. I’m a fan of just owning it.
And although it’s
hard not to obsess over people’s comments on the controversial topics I favor, I
don’t take myself too seriously, so I enjoy using humor and sarcasm, which I
think is effective in not only crafting my voice but also being relatable.
Writers like Cat Marnell and Lindy West have given me perspective on being
fearless and (trying to be) funny when choosing to write about tough subjects
like body issues, abortion, or views on politics.
My lifelong goal is
to write a memoir, a novel, and to look fabulous while doing so.
