The first think I did when I found out I was a finalist, was, I don't remember, because it felt like it was an out of body experience.

I felt like it was a great secret when I found out that I could be in my 30s.

I cried when I found out I was a finalist, I kind of went limp when they called my name. I felt like my spirit jumped out of my body, and I was just flesh - it was just amazing.

I don't remember getting elbowed in the chest or pushed. It was something I never felt before.

I remember feeling all right with myself until age 13. Then, I was getting off the bus one day and this guy called me Miss Piggy. That was the first time I ever really felt like I wasn't okay.

I think I felt at some point that I couldn't understand poetry or that it was beyond me or it didn't speak to my experience. I think that was because I hadn't yet found the right poems to invite me in.