Meet Kenedi Felicia

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kenedi Felicia. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kenedi below.

Kenedi, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us today. We’re excited to dive into your story and your work, but first let’s start with a broader topic that might be stopping many of our readers from pursuing their dreams – haters, nay-sayers, etc. How have you managed to persist despite haters and nay-sayers that inevitably follow folks who are doing something unique, special or off the beaten path?

As an entrepreneur there will always be someone who does not support my ideas or always doubting me. I remember when I just started storiesbyken on a Instagram platform back in March of 2020. I was living in my mom basement at the time and I decided to confide in someone I thought had my best interest. I begin to fetch all my business ideas and plans to this person just for them to tell me ” You can’t do it! you simply don’t have the following or the platform. You wont be successful.” Fast forward to November of 2020, I was awarded for the first time ever in my writing career for my very first poem I decided to publish. I also was granted a cash prize. For my first year transitioning from a person who only wrote people essays for profit to an award winning poet within a 8 month time frame was mind blowing to me. I always knew I was gifted of course but I wasn’t expecting to get that kind of exposure that quickly. So I shared that to say, If someone has ever doubted you or not supported you as an entrepreneur remember that they obviously see something in you that you have yet to see in yourself which is why they’re trying so hard to prevent you from reaching your full potential. They fear what you can become with all that power you have once you notice it within yourself. Never forget your WHY, why you started your journey to begin with? That will always be your motivation. As of today, I am a 3 time Award winning poet who has been awarded every single year since 2020 for my phenomenal work.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am Kenedi Felicia and I am 3 time Award Winning Poet. Majority of my poetry is drawn from personal experiences that I love to share with my audience in a very creative and story telling way. Currently for the past 9 months I have been working extremely hard on my very first book titled ” Now You See Me”. Now You See Me is set to be published in March of 2025. Recently, back in July I hosted my first book reading event in my hometown back in Baltimore. The main purpose for this event was to gain some perspective from a group of readers of my choosing and allow them to read the first 5 pages of the book. In total I had about 27 people show up. This event was planned to be very intimate so only a selective few were invited. I had 10 people that knew me personally and 10 people by random selection who didn’t know me at all. I chose to have my audience this way so I can compare the perspectives. Someone who knows me personally may interpret the book differently than someone who does not know me at all The book reading event was a success. Everyone came out to support me and show love. The feedback that I received from my audience was astounding. I was so happy to see everyone engaging and networking. It was truly an amazing event and I can’t wait to do this again for the book release party so stay tuned! If you would love to see more content from the event follow @storiesbyken on Instagram.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Looking back, the three qualities that shaped my journey were resilience, resourcefulness, and curiosity. Resilience kept me going when circumstances were tough, helping me push through fear, rejection, and self doubt. Resourcefulness allowed me to make the most of what little I had, finding creative ways to learn and improve even when resources were scarce. And curiosity drove me to constantly seek knowledge, explore new ideas, and grow , no matter where I started from. These qualities became the foundation of my success and they still are. For those who are early in their journey like myself, my advice to you is to embrace the challenges. To build resilience, understand that failure and set backs are part of the process- don’t let them hinder you, let them teach you. When it comes to resourcefulness, make the most of what’s available to you, whether its free online resources, libraries, or connections with others. You don’t need everything at once- start small, but be consistent. And to develop curiosity, remain open minded. Never stop learning, whether from books, people, or experiences. Curiosity will drive your growth and keep you moving forward, even when times get tough.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

The biggest challenge i’m currently facing is balancing my time between being an author and a student. Both require a lot of focus and dedication, and it can be extremely overwhelming to manage them simultaneously. Especially because I am doing all of this on my own. To overcome this, I’ve had to become more disciplined with my time, setting clear boundaries, and creating a structured schedule. I’m an overachiever so I’m always pushing myself to do more so It’s difficult sometimes to give myself a break when needed. I prioritize my task daily and make sure I stay organized so that neither my studies nor my writing suffers. It’s not always easy, but I’m still learning to be flexible and give myself grace along the way.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: storiesbyken

Image Credits

The Eunoia Effect