Lacey Roop
Austin, TX USA
"Never lose your sense of empathy or awe, and be proud of your existence; because your existence is a wonder, and something to be in awe of."
Career Roadmap
Lacey's work combines: Art, Writing, and Being Creative
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Life is as infinite or limited as you make it. There isn't just one path in life; there are endless paths. All I know is that sometimes what is beautiful is not the destination, but the exploration. Don't wait until the future to do something. The future is just a terrible excuse not to do incredible things with your life right now. No matter how dark it is outside (or inside for that matter) know that you are the lighthouse that the stars all come out to witness; keep glowing.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
English Language and Literature, General
Texas State University-San Marcos
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
Raised in Tupelo, Mississippi and is the first of four living generations to leave Mississippi.
2.
Being gay, she felt disconnected in her hometown, where gayness was made invisible.
3.
Headed toward Seattle, the farthest she could get from home by car; stopped in Austin, never left.
4.
Didn't start writing until Austin: "I didn't know I even had the capacity to do what I do now."
5.
Says: "I was always a writer at heart, but I was never in an environment where that was encouraged."
6.
Though some of her poems come from a dark place, they bloom into something beautiful.
7.
Says: Just like a tomato plant won't grow in the desert, people thrive in different environments.
8.
The beauty of life, she says, is the people you see, the stories you tell, and how they affect us.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You're crazy. This is not the way you should live. This is not the way you're supposed to be.
How I responded:
I used writing poetry as a way to write myself out of depression and get away from negativity.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I am gay and I've known that for a very long time. I couldn't be in a place where that was invisible and was taught to be invisible.
I'm the first person out of four living generations to leave Mississippi. It was too microscopic of a place for me and I knew that I had to leave. I decided to go to Seattle, but ended up stopping in Austin, TX and have been here ever since.