Happy Season of Light!
My name is Willow, and I am 17 years old. I was first introduced to Art from Ashes at Children’s Hospital in the summer of 2018. Writing my feelings and trauma into the funnel of poetry helped me heal faster than I thought possible.
A couple of years later, Art from Ashes visited my online school and hosted workshops weekly. I recognized the name and began returning to the familiarity of poetry and the 3-minute prompts. The facilitators reached out in May and invited me to be an official youth ambassador (which I accepted in a heartbeat).
I began attending workshops multiple times a week and started performing my poetry at community events. These performances made me realize that people enjoy hearing my poetry and that my voice itself is worth hearing.
With my newfound confidence in writing, I wasn’t scared of performing in front of crowds of people, instead, I was excited and hopeful.
I’m now a senior in high school and plan to major in Creative Writing when I’m in college next fall to expand my love for writing and for poetry. Yet words cannot express how grateful I am, and I am so excited to see where I get to go next with Art from Ashes by my side.
— Willow Tyler, they/them, 17
Art from Ashes Youth Ambassador
Art from Ashes youth ambassador Willow Tyler, 17, in front of their mural created in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art-Denver
Advice to My Younger Self
Willow, age 17
(written in 3 minutes)
I often wish
I could wrap you in my arms.
I often wish
I could scream in your face.
But you’ve been screamed at too much,
and you don’t deserve
to be screamed at, and you
didn’t deserve all that was said to you.
You are a shining star,
and you blind me. You
are the sweetest flower, you
smell like honeysuckle.
I know you are often confused,
but you will make it.
Not because you “have to,”
but because you can.
