Meet ILHAM EL MOUTAWAKIL

We were lucky to catch up with ILHAM EL MOUTAWAKIL recently and have shared our conversation below.

ILHAM, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I like to say that writing found me, not the other way around. Words always pulled at something inside me. As a child and teenager, I was fascinated by how someone’s imagination could dance on a page. I started writing in my adolescence, partly to impress an English teacher I deeply admired. She saw something in me before I recognized it myself.
She always encouraged creative expression in a way that felt rare and genuine, and I don’t think she knows the impact she had on my life – how her belief in my voice quietly shaped my path.
What started as imitation became expression.
And as someone who feels everything intensely, poetry became my refuge – a quiet place where the world made sense again.
Writing became the way I processed, healed, remembered, and became myself. My purpose didn’t arrive in a single moment – it unfolded, gently, word by word.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I write poetry.
Well, I haunt IT talents by day and scribble poems by night. I have a bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics, but life took me by the tail and led me elsewhere – straight into the arms of poetry.
What feels most special about it is the way it allows me to translate emotions into something tangible. My work explores themes like generational trauma, love and longing, anger, resilience, nostalgia, and healing. There are feelings many of us carry quietly everyday, and poetry gives me a way to make sense of them. I write to understand myself and detangle from life’s messy webs, but also in hopes that someone reading may feel seen in the process.

Last month, I released my debut poetry collection, Unsent Letters, on Amazon. It’s a deeply personal book, filled with pieces I once believed were only meant for my journal. But I realized there’s something powerful about sharing the parts of ourselves we usually tuck away – because often, those are the parts someone else needs to read.

I don’t think of what I do as a “brand”, necessarily. It feels like a conversation – between me and my younger self, between me and anyone who has ever felt too much, or kept their feelings quiet out of necessity. I’m taking my time to grow, to connect with readers, and to continue writing in a way that feels honest and grounded. There’s more to come, but I’m allowing it to unfold naturally.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Looking back, I’d say the three qualities that have shaped my journey the most are emotional awareness, resilience, and curiosity.

Emotional awareness came from having to face my own shadows early on. I’ve lived through experiences that forced me to sit with pain I didn’t yet know how to name – and writing became the bridge between silence and expression. My advice would be: don’t rush to silence your feelings. Listen to them. They often hold the raw material for your growth and creativity.

Resilience was born out of necessity. I once wrote a piece that starts like:
“You don’t choose rebellion, it chooses you.
Anoints you with the tenth fist in your face,
picks you before madness decides
to keep you forever as her toy pet.”
That poem came from a place of defiance – the moment you realize you have no choice but to fight back, to survive. Somehow I kept showing up – to the page, to myself, to the small things that kept me grounded. Consistency, I’ve learned, matters more than confidence. You don’t have to feel ready to begin – just willing to keep going. The secret is to not let your smile wither, no matter the weather.

And curiosity has been my quiet anchor. Even through difficult times, I’ve stayed curious about emotions, people, and the world around me. It’s what helps me turn pain into perspective. If you nurture your curiosity, you’ll never stop evolving.

These traits weren’t built overnight – they were shaped by both hardship and healing. Growth happens quietly, often while you’re just trying to find your way through.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

If I only had a decade left, I’d spend it fully awake. I’d write every day, not for perfection, but for truth. I’d spend time with the people who make me feel at home in my own skin, and travel to places that quiet the noise in my mind.

I’d still find refuge in small rituals: journaling, prayer, soft music while doing chores, walks in nature, and long talks with my sister or my closest friends. Those are the moments that remind me to breathe, to slow down, to live intentionally.

I’d want to keep learning – about love, faith, human connection, and the small miracles that exist in ordinary days. I’d laugh louder, forgive quicker, and make peace with what never worked out.

Mostly, I’d devote that decade to creating – poems, stories, maybe even letters I’ll never send. Because I believe that what we create outlives us in the hearts it touches. And if my words comfort even one soul, that would be enough of a legacy for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0FMWHQVYG
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilham_elmoutawakil
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilham-m-141b9020a/
• Other: Linktree:

  https://linktr.ee/ilham.elmoutawakil?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=e144c117-cf80-418c-af20-5e4c56a65ebc