On November 5th, I volunteered to be a Panelist on "Performance in Poetry" for a senior English course. It consisted of me and my friends from NGXP, as the organization was personally asked to participate in this specific topic of the course. During the class, students asked us questions based on readings they had to complete prior to class, about our personal experiences and connections to poetry, and why we chose this medium as a way to express ourselves to the rest of the world.
Everyone in the class, including the panelists, were upperclassmen, but it wasn't intimidating being the only freshman there. In fact, it made me stand out even more. A lot of the questions were about us, specifically how poetry played a role in our lives or how it became a way for us to creatively express ourselves. For me, poetry has been my safe space since middle school when the pandemic rocked the world to its core. Because of the isolation, I wasn't allowed to see my friends or relatives, unless it was through a digital screen. So, I used the daily poetry assignments as a way to express my distress, anger, and sadness. From that point on, my writing skills grew and I was able to expand my craft to spoken word, and as a result, my mother and I have grown closer than ever. When it came to our rough patches or arguments, I would try to communicate how I felt in those situations, but she never fully understood how much pain I was in. It wasn't until I let her read my poetry that she finally understood all the feelings and experiences I went through during my upbringing. It's even through poetry that I practiced early Curated Inwardness, where I carved out time to quietly reflect on my works and found clarity in who I truly am, both as a creative and as a person. I will always be grateful for my gift of poetry, because it's a way to preserve my life experiences and hopefully touch those who couldn't find their own voices.
By Caitlyn Hickman '29
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