Valkyrie Fall 2017 - Issue 1

In Their Own Voices:
Sarah
Baker
HUMANS OF BERRY: FRESHMAN EDITION
How long have you been into creative writing?
I started in fourth grade and that was the first poem I
published. It was about my uncle’s death and how I was
trying to see it from a nature-oreinted perspective.
What kind of books and poems do you write?
I use poems as a way to rant about what I’m feeling during
creative times. I write a lot about the sun or water-nature
idioms. I usually write a mixture of fantasy and adventure.
What inspired you to start writing?
I was diagnosed with depression in fourth grade so
my doctor gave me a journal to write about my feelings.
I started out writing one or two sentences a day because I
wasn’t really feeling anything, but then I found out that I
could write about anything I wanted to.
Design by Devon Powers, Buzz Editor
Interviews by Jacob Pritchett, Assistant Buzz Editor
Photos by Devon Powers and Jacob Pritchett
An author. A scout. A poet.
How long does it take to write a book?
I have books that I made a while ago that I still go back
and edit, so forever is a good number. I usually write a book
over five or six months, but that’s just prewriting.
What is it like to get it published?
A lot of my earlier ones were just entered in contests
where all the entries were automatically published. They
seem nice but I feel like it’s a really long process to even
meet the publisher in the first place.
Does the arduous labor pay off ?
It pays off mostly as stress relief. It’s something I can
do in my spare time. Frankly, I like when people like what
I write, but it’s not necessary. I get a lot of self-motivation
from what I write.
Photo curtesy of Shelby Newland
Shelby
Newland
Jeremiah
Lane
How long have you been doing
poetry?
I’ve been writing my own poetry
since freshman year and I’ve been
doing poetry recitations for two
years.
How did you get into poetic
recitation?
I was having a hard time finding
outlets for my own writing, but I
knew I liked performing poetry and
my teacher told me there was an opportunity to be on stage
with a mic in front of my face and I said, “Great, give me
the attention.”
What inspired you to take it to a competitive level?
I’m a competitive person and I played half a dozen
sports, but between my sophomore and junior year there
was a big change in the trajectory of my life. I went from
being a three-sport athlete to being involved in newspaper
and theatre and I got really into poetry writing. I found
that because I wasn’t playing as many sports, I found that I
didn’t have that same outlet for my competitive nature until
I found this medium.
What did it take to become a national champion?
My first year doing the competition, I didn’t even place
top three in the state. I’m a very competitive person, so I
did what I did with sports. I looked through the film and I
saw what the people who succeeded did differently from me
and I saw the places where I fell short and I worked hard to
improve. To compete at the national level, it took more conferring
with people I trusted, more practice and selecting
more challenging poems.
What did it take to become an Eagle
Scout?
In Boy Scouts, there are many different
ranks you have to go through. Each section
has individual requirements and that
alone is quite a bit. In order to reach Eagle,
you have to have your own service project,
which has to go through a committee and is
pretty rigorous. There’s a lot of paperwork
involved and you also have to find people to help you with
your service projects. It takes a lot of work.
What lessons did you take away from it?
I learned how to lead people based on who they are.
I’m able to adapt to my group. If people are in need, I can
help with no problem. I like to train people so they can also
become leaders.
What were your achievements as eagle scout?
I built two planter boxes for my church. In my troop, I
was the only scout to become a Leave No Trace Trainer, a
scout who teaches others how to preserve the environment.
How do you plan to use the lessons you’ve learned in
the future?
I hope to own my own business and use the leadership
skills I learned to help run it. I also want to to help people.
I would like to be a psychologist and I feel like Boy Scouts
has helped me to be socially enabled.
22 Buzz
VALKYRIE 23