Fragments of Time

It was Monday, May 8th. In the back end of my lunch hour, I took a walk around the neighborhood where my job is located. Along Maiden Lane, I happened to see this chalked into the sidewalk along with my shadow.

It was on this day ten years ago that I decided to turn what were lengthy status updates into a blog.

This would actually be my second go at creating a blog as I had one during my college years but I ultimately gave up on it as I couldn’t keep up the writing for it. With the encouragement of my friend Stephanie Infante and a love of the Charles M. Schultz cartoon Peanuts, The Blog Underneath The Security Blanket was born. Six days later, the first post of the blog would be published.

I was at a low point when the first post, “The Story So Far” was published. My internship at the time didn’t end under the best of terms. And I feared that I would never be able to find a steady job, let alone a full-time gig. But I didn’t expect that the universe would begin to provide a way out of the darkness.

Sure enough, I would have a meeting a week later that would change the course of life for most of the next decade. I would meet my then supervisor and soon to be friend Erica. After a summer spent as an intern at a non-profit advocacy organization devoted to helping those with HIV/AIDS, I found a place to belong after so many stop and go situations. And I would stay in the orbit for the next eight years, gradually working my way into the Donations Call Center. From not knowing much of anything to being the one that everyone depended on to get things done.

In that time, I would begin to find out a lot more about myself.

From a love of travel that’s only grown stronger with time, to being able to help with paying the bills at home and how far my resilence and patience would go. So many friends and co-workers made and departed, days where my frustrations would reach boiling points. With one particular day where my overindulgence nearly put my life in danger.

I would steady my ship, until the iceberg of 2020 struck.

As that month of March rolled on, everything spiraled out of control. A global pandemic forced the office to shut operations for nearly four months. As a result, most of the staff on the retail side of the aisle were furloughed. It felt like the end of the world after things were humming along so surely. But, it turned out to be the best thing that could’ve happened to me.

In the midst of all this, I was about to begin a creative awakening.

In January of 2020, I enrolled in Cathy Heller’s business course, “Made To Do This”. The only thing was, I wasn’t sure if this was the place for me as I didn’t see my writing as a business. It was something that was cathartic for me, not something that could be turned into a medium for speaking my truth.

But a fateful conversation on March 22nd, 2020 would change my trajectory. The words would be come art and the next day, I had my first post on my Instagram feed. The level of reaction would be a sign of things to come. Podcasts, publishing poems, reading poems and open mics would be where my poetry was heading. In October of that year my first book of poetry, “A Poetic Journey, Staying At Home” would be released. I never expected to see the cover of the book as a poster on my wall, yet there it is as I turn my head each morning. A monument to a major accomplishment.

I would also expand into writing chapters for multi-author books as I did in November 2021 writing a chapter for The Key Publishing House’s maiden publication, “Authentic”. Best-selling author, I never thought I’d be able to call myself that.

2022 would be a year where everything would change once again.

After eight years as a donations associate, I would move on from the job. It got to a point where so much change happened, and I reached my breaking point trying to pick up the pieces. The last two years on the job only exacerbated this notion. I didn’t think the process the entire way through, though. Once the 11th of November came last year, I was back to the start. I didn’t expect the wait to get re-employed to take as long as it did given the amount of experience on my resume.

And then in January 2023, everything changed again. I was back at work. Trading the phones for dual computer screens as a data entry clerk at a city agency. Maybe, this where i’m supposed to be at this moment in time.

With my inner leader meeting up with my wiser, stronger self, I’m on another voyage of discovery. Where things will lead from here is still being written.

This has been the Cliff Notes version of the last decade. But what, if anything has been learned?

I’m far more resilent than I’ve ever given myself credit for. And when I feel into something, I go after it full throttle. I’m more sociable than I realize too, as the circle of friends has greatly expanded in the last ten years. I’ve also taken my poetry a bit more seriously than I previously have, though I still want to get better with the words that I write.

I want to thank everyone that’s come across this blog over the last decade, everyone that’s ever read any of my poems and seen my videos. All the support and encouragement means the world to me.

Here’s to the next decade of writing!

A portrait of the author. As I take in the first glimpses of summer sitting on a bench at The Seaport. As I look straight ahead, a view of the Brookly Bridge is on the horizon.