But there was one person I sought out that I hadn’t had that kind of close relationship with - he was simply an interesting person I had known in high school. Now, I say “interesting” because growing up in rural Missouri in the 60’s and 70’s, most of the guys were either going to work on the farm, going to a trade school to become a diesel mechanic, or just find whatever job they could. And most of the girls were going to be teachers, nurses or stay-at-home moms. There were very few of us that were going to college. However, this guy was different - he wanted to be a DJ! And during high school, he’d already realized that dream by being a DJ on KPCR (imagine the fun we had with THAT name!) on Sundays. KPCR was a tiny little local radio station that played country music - except for the days when my friend was there! He idolized Olivia Newton John and took advantage of his position as DJ to play her songs as often as he could.
Anyway, I decided to see if I could find him on Facebook and connect with him to see what he’d done with his life. And I did find him - just under a different name! You see, he’s a writer now - and yes, he DJ’d for several years after getting his Communications degree in college! His first book was published under a pen name, one that he’d created for himself at about age 14. He and his daughter had written the book when she was young and years later, in honor of her memory, he’d had it illustrated and published! And he was working on a book of poems about his late daughter when we connected.
Now mind you, I was never a big fan of poetry growing up. Most of the poems I’d read were just so esoteric in nature, that I couldn’t stand to read poetry. But his poems were different - they were written from the heart and alternatively made me laugh and cry! And I was hooked!
Being an accountant by trade, I knew how to write business plans, policies and procedures and so on. But I decided that poetry might just be a way for me to express my feelings as I was going through the many changes in my life last spring. So I started writing . . . and writing . . . and writing! Many of my poems can’t be shared with anyone as they were agonizing diatribes about my circumstances and disappointments in life. But soon those poems started changing to uplifting, positive poems of hope for the future! To date, I have written 86 poems!
My friend told me about this website that is for writers to share their works. So I joined it, just to see how my work would be received by other writers. And I’ve been very pleased with the results so far, though I am far from being a number one author! I have gotten some lovely comments on my poetry and have 4 people following my poetry - and this has brought an entirely new dimension to my life! To be able to write words of love, gratitude and hope - that touches other people’s hearts - is just a phenomenal feeling! To be able to express my innermost thoughts in a way that evokes a response in someone else is so rewarding and just stuns me! I’ve even coupled 3 poems with pieces of art that I have created.
So you can imagine my disbelief - and extreme gratitude - with the results of this month’s voting on the writing website! I had posted three poems and one is in second place, one is in ninth place and one is in sixteenth place. And I am in sixth place for “Author of the Month” on the site! Woo Hoo!
Now you might think I’m writing this blog post to toot my own horn - but I’m not! Because if you look at the name in the number one spot on the “Author of the Month” picture below, you’ll see my friend’s name! He’s got the number one opinion piece, the number one story, AND the number one poem for the month! I’m so very proud of his accomplishments and am waiting with bated breath for his next book of poetry to get finished! It will be 400 pages long and called “Enlightened Journeys” and will have something for everyone!
And I want to express my sincere gratitude to him for introducing me to a creative outlet that is like no other and allows me to express my every feeling in such a beneficial manner!
So if you’re looking for an outlet for pent-up feelings, a new and exciting way to be creative, or just love to learn new things, give poetry a try! After all, if this left-brained accountant can do it, so can you!!
Happy writing!
TA Roberts
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You can learn more about Teresa on Facebook