Poetry Out Loud

I've loved poetry ever since the third grade (thank you Mrs. Marshall). I adored writing little rhymes and Shel Silverstein was my hero. My love for poetry grew throughout elementary school, my parents bought me a lilac colored journal with delicate flowers on the cover in which I'd write poems about my friends, family, and the changing seasons. I was a child possessed.

One warm day during freshman year, I recall my mother picking up a flyer for Poetry Out Loud during her short visit to the high school. "Isabella, are you doing this? You love poetry!" Of course I love poetry, Mami. No, of course I'm not doing that because A) I'm a freshman, nobody would care to watch me. B) I'm incredibly shy, I could never recite in front of a large group of people. But of course I just shrugged when my mother proposed the idea and insisted it was too late to sign up. My transition to the high school was a little rocky and I was extremely timid and self conscious when I was thirteen.

Sophomore year was the year my confidence started blooming. It was this year that I met my closest friends and found happiness in the school through forming good relationships with my teachers, participating in clubs that interested me, and began acquainting myself better with more people in my grade. So Poetry Out Loud. I remember thinking to myself: why not? I have nothing to lose. So I memorized Yeats' When You Are Old and Christina Rosetti's poem A Birthday. I still have both of the poems memorized (sort of), poetry has a funny way of sticking with you. I remember looking into Mr. Dolan's eyes during the first round and turning to find Ms. Arkans looking at me in expectation as well among a sea of unfamiliar (and familiar!) faces. I remember Ms. St. John's excitement and her warm and guiding self through the entire process.

I was shocked and excited when I found out I'd made it to the school wide competition. This is when I began to take it more seriously. I stayed home and would repeat the stanzas so many times that they didn't sound like words anymore. My English teachers encouraged me. I won the school wide competition and fell at the Mid-Hudson Regional Competition, as I also did this year.

I sound like a forty year old woman when I recite, I really can't help it. I suppose it's just how I get into character. This year I recited my favorite Chorus Sacerdotum by Fulke Greville and Invitation to Love by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Ms. St. John, again, has really shepherded me through the entire process and would always be willing to give me advice. She was somewhat of a poetry coach for me. I'm eternally grateful for her kindness and for my friends and family who'd always help me practice.

Poetry Out Loud has sealed my unshakable confidence. Ever since I stepped onto the stage for the first time my sophomore year, I have learned that no one can tear me down unless I let them. I should pursue what I love and use my resources to succeed. But more importantly I have so much fun when I recite! It can be terrifying but the feeling of satisfaction and relief is worth every moment of stress I have endured throughout the process.