During the course of your life, you may come across certain people who inspire you. You may come across people who take the time to look out for you, offer advice, etc. For me, two people stand out very clearly: my mother, June Parris, and my Creative Writing teacher from high school, Tracy Rice-Weber.

Ever since I was little, my mother always encouraged me to be creative. I did a lot of writing, so she supplied me with plenty of notebooks and pens. I did a lot of drawing, so she always bought art supplies for me. When I decided to give animation a try, she bought a video camera and a light box, and let me experiment. She never told me I couldn’t do something, and even though money was tight, she always found a way to help me get what I needed.

When I reached twelfth grade, I took a Creative Writing class, for the very first time. It felt good to be in a class with other writers and creative types. Mrs. Rice-Weber, my teacher, encouraged all of her students to try new styles of writing, including poetry. She gave me an opportunity to submit work to, and work on the staff of the school’s literary art magazine, Polaris. Thanks to her, I earned an award for my work, along with an academic letter.

I do have one more person I’d like to mention. I never had the opportunity to meet her, but she did encourage me, in her own way. The late Octavia Butler, is one of the most well-known Black women authors of science fiction and fantasy. In fact, reading her work, inspired me to write my upcoming book, The Witch of Fulton Lane.

Do you have a mentor? Has anyone encouraged you to dare to be great? If so, take a moment and thank them.

#mentors