Ohioana Book Awards 2015

Song:  Now or Never x Kendrick Lamar Feat. Mary J. Blige

I was a well-read child, courtesy of my mother who surrounded me with children's literature before I could actually read and began teaching me. I don't even remember learning how to read, really, I just know that once I was in kindergarten, I could read. In fact, even as the only black student, I was one of the three students allowed to walk to the library alone (it was in a separate building) and I would spend my time there, hidden in the maze of shelves, sitting on a tiny bench, stacking up children's books around me as I read them instead of checking them out. Have you ever finished a book in the library or bookstore? You pick it up, thinking you'll only read the first few pages, maybe a chapter, and then you'll buy it, take it home, snuggle up beneath your blanket and swallow up the words every night. But then you look up and it's been hours, you're in the middle of the book, so you have two choices: waste your money and take home a book you're almost done with, stay and finish it, or finish the chapter and come back the next day to finish the book. Some people go to Barnes & Noble to write or drink coffee or buy books, and some people go there and read.

Anyways, I was well-read, which evolved into being well-written. Well-written in all subjects. In 5th grade, I wrote a great narrative about a slice of pepperoni pizza and it's journey through the digestive system. In college, I successfully argued for convergence evolution of cannibalism in birds of prey, big cats, and pinnipeds - the only A I got in my comparative vertebrate structure and function in class. I liked to write, anything, I loved creating. So, I always knew I'd be an English-creative writing major when I decided to go to college. Everyone said I would change my major - and I did, I switched my psychology minor and pre-med biology major for a psychology major, a minor in neuroscience and an almost biology minor. I finessed my four years of college and double majors to include general studies courses that focused on writing, literature, narrative, or aspects of each. I'm working on making a future of blending psychology and writing.

So here I am, in graduate school, getting an MFA in Creative Nonfiction. I've been published. And most recently, I've been awarded. The Ohioana Book Awards' Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant, awarded to a writer under thirty who hasn't published a book and shows great potential. We had a beautiful ceremony at the Ohio Statehouse, and I gave a speech (along with the other winners) and then participated in a roundtable discussion on writing with all of the winners. This award has been the beginning or recognition for several authors who have gone on to win book awards and Pulitzer prizes. I won this award and it was a much bigger deal than I had thought it was, like this award is the kick-off for writing careers and authors that go on into the future to just slay the game and I won! Still surreal. Anyways, on top of receiving this award, I also found out that at 22 (I was actually 21 when I was notified of my award), I am the youngest recipient of this award, beating the previous youngest winner by 4 (but actually 5) years.

Mama, we made it. If you're interested, you can watch the ceremony here and the excerpt that was included in the Fall 2015 Ohioana Quarterly was my essay, What Will Follow about my life after the death of my father in 2002. It meant so much for me to be able to represent Ohio and the literary world of creative nonfiction by winning this award. If you know me, you know that I'm a proud Buckeye, even though my education has taken me to places outside of Columbus, Ohio, but we all know that it all began there, in a little green house on Bretton Pl.