Between the Mediums

     A weight has been lifted off my shoulders friends, as the written draft of my book is complete!!!  (insert streamers and popping a bottle of champagne here)      What comes next, you may be asking... well I just wrapped up my first official meeting with my talented graphic artist, Leah, and let me just say that having a creative mind like hers that I can wholeheartedly trust for images and book layout has already been incredible. We were able to talk about overall themes that I want highlighted in each chapter, we touched on the cover and back cover art designs, and (drumroll please.......) we talked about stickers! Who doesn't love stickers, right? So we're making stickers out of images Leah creates for the book, along with some of my poem excerpts as well that can be given out as goodies with book purchases; it's all very exciting. Being able to give her creative freedom while I can start the next steps of this process is truly, freeing.   ...

      I recently wrapped up a graduate level course on leadership, and one of the largest overarching themes we discussed was what Bravery is, and what Courage is.      I also happened to finish reading Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (sobbed, btw) where one of my favorite lines of text happened to be about Bravery and Courage:                "Bravery... is almost always a lie. Courage is all we have."     So what is bravery and courage, and how are they different? To me, bravery is almost like a mask that can be worn, displaying a lack of fear and acting boldly; but courage takes vulnerability. An acceptance that despite the fear and uncertainty through making a choice, the importance of making the courageous choice has more positive benefits than not. In class we talked about how at our most human level, vulnerability is a willingness to get into that state of discomfort either through risk, uncerta...

      I have finally gotten to the point where my poems have been individually edited enough to where I can start placing them in the story order that will be most impactful for myself and (hopefully) the reader. But during my last meeting with my editor Micaela, she mentioned something that I feel I'm ready to share. Part of the editing process for us is going poem by poem and identifying key emotional poems that could be pivotal depending on where they are placed in the collection. This was when Micaela mentioned that despite my undergrad being in music, there is a infinitesimal amount of poems that mention music, let alone my being a musician.     That's because I burned out. Since I could remember, music was in my life either through church gospel groups, piano lessons, playing violin, school choirs, musicals, voice lessons, and ultimately making the decision to pursue music in college. I loved it, and I eventually made it who I was to the point that if I wa...

       To be frank, the title should really be "First Draft Sent to Editor!! and other mildly disorganized thoughts.." because there's been an abundance of metacognition these past few weeks, and somehow they all are completely interwoven with each other. First things first; not only has the first draft been sent, my lovely editor Micaela and I have now had the chance to sit down and go through (nearly) every poem in this collection and talk holistically about what story I want told, who my intended audience is, and what I want this book to accomplish. Something I have loved thus far about working with Micaela is her process of how she gives feedback, never imposing her own ideas on my art but instead posing her notes as "wonderings" and "curiosities" which has been one of the biggest discoveries for me, and something I've been thinking about a lot these past few weeks beyond my poetry and into my day to day life.  I started thinking to myself, ...

       It would be disingenuous of me if I didn't share that my mind has been cloudy with the tragedy that occured at Annunciation Catholic Church this past week. I have been sitting on this for a week now and I feel, like many others, that I don't think I have any new thoughts to share on this, beyond the continued fear and anger I've felt for years now. I've always believed that our words carry strength, but when our thoughts and voices continue to fall on deaf ears, how do you continue? I have to believe, for the sake of my faith, and for the sake of our future, that things will change.  "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is...

     Welcome to my blog "Between the Mediums." This is a space where I will be sharing my thoughts on being in a sort of liminal space in life, feeling pulled and tugged in multiple directions and not knowing what the next step should be or where it may take me. I'll be sharing experiences, my own or observed, and my reflections.  "Between the Mediums" is also a play on words, since I identify myself as an artist of many varieties, primarily music/voice and poetry. We will talk about both of those more in detail soon. Related and important, I am writing a poem book (woohoo!!) and will be detailing that process as well as what I'm learning along the way, as both a writer and an overall creative. Thank you for joining me on this journey, I'm excited to see what we learn and discover together :) Sewit