Here’s to risk taking
Voices in power Philly 2022
I performed “First Date Questions,” a poem featured in my book and went viral on tiktok. Check out the performance here! With over 430K views, I’m glad these words were able to reach so many people.
Not quite sure I know what I’m doing…but does anyone else? I’ve seen so many people take risks on their dreams and achieve them, so I figured why not me too. So here goes nothing.
I’m Jessica. I am a spoken word artist and a published author of two poetry books. Writing has always played an important role in my life. I started writing when I was 10 and began performing around 19. I’ve featured in various open mics on Long Island, New York City, and across the country. Spoken word has even landed me the opportunity to work with planned parenthood and perform in front of Nicki Minaj’s mom! Poetry has taken me places I didn’t think were possible. Writing a book was something I always dreamed of and now my dreams are becoming even bigger. Frightening, sometimes. Imposter syndrome is real over here. But whenever I write or recite any poems it is truly a healing experience.
When I’m not “poeting” I work full time as a case manager for children who are diagnosed with a mental health condition. I enter families’ homes and help them address their challenges. It can be overwhelming, especially being someone who struggles with mental health themselves. I try the best I can for my clients, and they help me just as much as I help them. It’s a mutual learning and growing experience and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity.
Photography by Thirty1Eighty8
Being a social worker, I prioritize the importance of mental health. Living with depression is not fun. In my recently published book Manipulated I share my journey with depression and anxiety through raw and unfiltered emotions.
Depression is not glamorous. I pride myself on being vulnerable through my art expression in hopes it inspires others to do the same. It can be hard to talk about mental health but I’m glad conversations are not as taboo as they used to be. I’m hoping through this blog I can shed light on some of these topics in the future with personal experiences and knowledge.
Like I said, I’m not sure I know what I’m doing so I’m open to suggestions and topics you would like to read about. I’ve always been honest and vulnerable in my poems, so I thought I’d give it the same effort for my blogging.
I have a lot of goals for myself, and this is one of them. I have a hard time with commitment so I can only commit to one blog post a month (for now), so please read this one very slowly and enjoy it. I want to share more of my writing than just poetry and I think this is the way I want to start.
