Now a published poet

Now a published poet…

Just a childhood dream

“Mummy, mummy, I want to be a writer, a real author.” “That’s great Katie, but…” “No buts mummy, I am going to be a writer.” This is all my family heard when I was a small child, I had my heart set on being a writer, I mean it was unrealistic yes, but it is what I wanted and I was determined that I would achieve my dream. I guess my family didn’t want me to be disappointed if things didn’t work out, but nothing could stop me, not even criticism. As time went on, I drifted away from writing- I just stopped. I suppose at the back of my mind there was always this discouraging voice eating away at me saying, “you won’t make it, people won’t want to read about your boring life, you aren’t good enough,” and for ages I listened to that voice. It ate away at me. I was wondering what was wrong with me, but I was shutting the door to something which I absolutely loved, something that satisfied me and something that made me happy… Why? Some people didn’t believe in me and therefore, I didn’t believe in myself.

Is it possible?

The adrenaline from campaigning was unreal, it ignited my soul, it only made me even more determined to seek my purpose, to chase my dreams and to find out what my life was really created for. I was only 15 when I started to write seriously, I completed the Poetry in Motion workshop at school, two of my main driving forces were always my amazing Granda and my incredible English teacher, Mrs Butler. They always told me, “Katie if you want to be a writer, then you have to go for it.” Up until then I didn’t get what this meant, but in an unbelievably judgemental world, you should just go for it and show the world who you are, rather than letting them set your limitations because believe me, they don’t know what you are made of!!!

Living the dream

I wrote many poems, until I wrote a poem called ‘You Are’- it was simple and to the point, unlike my usual waffle!! It caught my teacher’s eye and not so long after this I was told to enter a Young Writers competition called ‘Mum in a Million.’ I entered it and forgot about it because as usual my crazily busy life distracted me. Then, one day my mum turned up at my school for a parent-teacher meeting and she handed me an envelope which had already been opened- mum was smiling, it wasn’t just a small or fake smile, it was meaningful. I wondered what had happened- I mean, had we won the lottery? Had she booked a holiday? Did she win a free ticket to the cinema? Without saying a word, she handed over the envelope, it read “Dear Parent/Guardian of Katie Graden, we are delighted to inform you that Katie’s poem ‘You Are’ has been selected for publication in our Young Writer’s anthology, Mum in a Million.” I just screamed- there were no words, then I just ran. Mum shouted after me, “where are you going?” I had to go see Miss Thompson, my English Literature teacher- this was awesome! I had had an article published which was great, but this was greater- it was one step closer to living my dream! When the anthology arrived, I treasured seeing my name and age in the contents list being able to flick through the pages and seeing my poem published.

I’m not just a dreamer

As time went on, I entered more and more poetry competitions and later that year I received another letter which read, “Dear Parent/ Guardian of Katie Graden, we are delighted to inform you that Katie’s poem ‘Belgium’ has been selected for publication in our Young Writer’s anthology, Summertime Rhymes.” WHAT? IT WAS 2016 and I had just had 2 poems published- I loved it! But nothing would have prepared me for what happened next- in 2017 a letter came through around January/ February time- “Dear Parent/Guardian we are delighted to inform you that Katie’s poem ‘Satisfying our Souls’ has been selected for publication in our Young Writer’s anthology, Busta Rhyme, Teenage Dreams. Then, a few months later I got the same letter again, this time my poem ‘Granny’ had been selected for publication and it is due to be published this summer!!

Be a dreamer, be a writer

All I can say is follow your dreams- becoming a writer was a dream, but now it is reality and for me it is the most incredible thing! If you want to be a writer, go for it! We all write in unique styles and that is what makes the writing world so awesome! People will tell you that you aren’t good enough, people will tell you that it is too challenging, people will tell you that you won’t make it and people will tell you that it is unrealistic, but the thing is, you can do it and you will get there! Hard work and commitment are the key to success. When one day of writing doesn’t work, don’t take it hard because we all have good and bad days, some days are extremely productive and other days you may achieve nothing, but each experience that we live is a step further to our dreams. Your own experiences are the centre of our writing pieces, so live life to the full! Do not give up, this is the worst thing to do! I gave up years ago, and I regret it so much, but I am back writing and it is the best thing I have ever done for myself. It isn’t selfish to focus on what you love, it is necessary, you need to grow and fulfil your goals.

Much love and until next time,

Katie G