Speaking of time travel, can you shed light
on how you first fell in love with poetry?
No biggie! Growing up, I was bullied through
primary and high school. So I have always been
the kid who fades into the background. I felt as
though I did not matter. You know, I would go
home after a long day of being beaten up by a few
of my classmates, and when I get home, everyone is
always so busy. You see, I come from an extended
family, so every day is always chaotic and fastmoving. I always felt like I did not have an outlet to
let it all out. That’s why I guess I stuck to my books;
they hide everything so well.
Long story short, I have always felt suffocated and
voiceless. I think that’s why now, I speak in a louder
tone and still today, in moments where I have to
lower my voice, I find it hard to breathe!
When I got to junior high school, I tried out
debating. My first speech was less than 2 minutes!
However, I realized that at the podium, I had 8
minutes to make a case. 8 minutes in which the
world stopped. The world was silent then so that I
could be louder. From there on, I worked hard at
perfecting and improving on my debating skills.
I did more speeches, went to competitions and
lost way too many rounds, but I never gave up. In
my lens of viewing life, I see the 8 minutes of my
time to find the voice that I never had. That’s how
I feel about art, more specifically poetry. In the 4-5
minutes I have on stage, It’s all about how I see the
world, and I use words to change the world and
take my audience on a ride of their lives.
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