An eye-opening experience

The biggest transformation of my life started about a year ago, and continues still. It started more specifically in the Burchell High commons, AKA “The Big Room,” where we have school-wide forums and performances. This forum, we were told, was going to a workshop on poetry. As a devout fan of all kinds of poetry, I made sure to sit in the front row. I recognized the man leading the workshop, Kima Hamilton, from a similar workshop I participated in my freshman year at a different school.

He started with an original piece and I was enthralled in the style — “slam poetry,” he called it. I had heard various Beat poems by several musicians I listen to, but nothing ever like this. I took a chance to try and recite a poem in front of the whole school. My voice and my hands shook, but it was so exhilarating. I made a vow to myself to get better at this.

After the success of the workshop, poetry slams at Burchell became a regular thing. I wrote more, I widened my vocabulary and got more comfortable with the style. This was when I actually began to notice changes in my perception as well. I had a greater appreciation for the works of others. I was more comfortable in front of crowds and more confident with my thought processes. Everything in my life was poem-worthy and could end up in my writing. My journals were filling up. Still are. Before this I was an awkward teenager who knew her worth, but didn’t know how to show it. I was a creative soul with no creative outlet. Talk about frustrating!

Then last October the ReadNex Poetry Squad paid Burchell a visit. Imagine a recently awakened poet’s surprise when she was told that she would get to spend three days in workshops doing the very thing that inspired her to live and create.

I was bouncing off the walls, jittery with excitement. They definitely did not let me down. In fact, they completely exceeded my expectations.

Not only did they teach us about the art of writing poetry, they connected it to bravery, goal setting and realizing success in ways that no one else had done for me before.

Now Burchell is getting involved with Brave New Voices, an organization that brings young poets around the nation together to share their creations. I took the time to see what the organization had to offer. One search on YouTube and thousands of videos came up. These people are nothing short of genius, words combined in ways you can’t even imagine until you see them performed.

This experience is shaping the way I think and live. I have learned about new ways to grow as an individual. I have found a community in which I can explore new things and broaden my horizons. When we open our minds and eyes, it’s surprising to see what we thought we knew more fully.

Ashlee Twiford is a junior at Burchell High School.