Initial thoughts and feelings

I can’t express how this DYCP Grant feels. If you’ve never been in a position where you have to turn down gigs and slams because you just can’t afford to go, and bring your carer with you at the same time. I can’t believe the next level of work this grant will enable me to do.

I grew up below the poverty line, my mum would walk four miles a day dropping me and my sisters off at different schools cos we couldn’t afford a car, I know she went hungry, but my family always supported me writing poetry. Even when I said I wanted to go to Oxbridge XD and then my mental health got worse and worse to the point where I struggle to leave the house let alone work. And now a poetry hero of mine is gonna mentor me and push me to do my best, through discomfort or uncertainty. It’s going to be hard, but it’s a dream so big that I never ever imagined it before 3 months ago. So this is a wild ride.