Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Joseph.
Hi Melissa, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
When I was in first grade, I had a teacher who made us use our notebooks to print out old nursery rhymes and draw pictures of how we would view the nursery rhymes. It was a fun activity that we would do at the end of the day. The summer before starting second grade, I would use the same notebook to write a new version to the nursery rhymes and then eventually writing my own rhymes. It started to evolve into poetry. In middle school, I would journal a lot which helped me start with producing poetry. In High school, I would experiment writing poems about my moods, relationships, family, and friends. Writing poetry became my outlet. The therapy before therapy. A new profound peace. It felt exhilarating to release my thoughts on a piece of paper and it would flow effortlessly for me. I then would use my rhyming creativity to create fun speeches in my Student Government class by writing poems and raps in lieu of our weekly speeches. Needless to say, I always got As on my speeches. In college, I did a few poetry events at the university and received good feedback from other students, friends, and visitors. During my summer breaks, I would start writing not only about me. But other people in my life. I felt like I was capturing them almost like a photo. I starting writing about situations such as life, death, depression, romance, religion, beauty, and sex. In 2020, I started my Instagram page to share my poetry. During the pandemic, I did Poetry live sessions to share my poems with other. It was a dope interaction and help me combat my insecurities regarding my poem. Due to covid, I was not able to attend or perform at a Speak EZ, so I took advantage of Instagram live and created Ads to get people to tune in. However, with things going back to normal, I have strayed away from Instagram live. But I am excited to announce that I am working on poetry project right now. I look forward to release and connect with others but you can soon catch me at your local Poetry live nights.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Oh well of course it’s been extremely difficult to keep up and create new poems. Outside of my own insecurities, 2020 was not an easy for year for none of us. However, in my personal life, I suffered deaths in my family, losing a job, and just adjusting to new changes. So, it has been hard keeping up with my Instagram for poetry. I also experienced writers’ block during 2021, where I couldn’t even think about what I wanted to write about. Luckily in March of 2022, I went to Costa Rica with my friends and I took the time to write some poetry in San Jose, Costa Rica and it helped me with my creativity again. Something about Costa Rica helped ignite a fire back into my soul. I will forever be grateful for my Costa Rican experience.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Hi, I write poems and I write about different subjects. I write about life, beauty, death, depression, pain and etc. I am most proud of my poem “Tryin to find peace”, in this poem I write about several different people and their experience in life and their solutions to find peace within the midst of their chaotic lives. I want to add on more people to this poem and write their life experience. I believe what sets me apart is the fact that I talk about different ranges of things and this allows me to really tap into the human experience. And almost do a bit of journalism. I believe you should try to talk about the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful. We want to say we have a good life but what the good without the bad things? How can we appreciate the good, if we do not talk about the pain.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I like Orlando because of the scenery, they are so many beautiful parks to visit. I am not a big fan of the beach being an hour away. I’m so used to beach being 15- 20 mins away being from South Florida.
Contact Info:
- Email: speaklikme@gmail.com
- Instagram: @speaklik_me
Image Credits
Schesly Jules
