Meet Crystal Espinosa

 

We were lucky to catch up with Crystal Espinosa recently and have shared our conversation below.

Crystal, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?

I once read somewhere that problems are inevitable, but misery is optional. From that moment on, I always viewed my problems as simple obstacles that I was destined to come across, but chose the only way to cross them was with a smile. My optimism was born out of the pages of books and my dad. Inside of the pages of books, I created opportunities in imagination that I would never have possessed if not for reading. My father is also a glass forever full kind of person who has encouraged as well as enabled me to constantly see life through an optimistic lens. Being optimistic comes naturally when you constantly remind yourself that nothing worth having comes easy.

As a high school English teacher, one cannot create a safe and loving learning environment without having a growth mindset. Planting the seeds of peace and poetry inside of the young minds within my classroom simply cannot be done with a fixed mindset, in truth, nothing can. I wake up daily and choose optimism, not just for my present, but for my future and for my student’s futures.

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

.My name is Crystal Espinosa and I am a high school English teacher born and raised in Queens New York currently residing in Miami Florida. I have been teaching high school for the past thirteen years, and quite honestly, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. At the age of three I began dancing and as soon as I learned to write, I became a writer. Writing and dancing are the two ways in which I view the world. These two forms of artistic expression have taught me to approach life with confidence in communicating within my communities. I struggled in high school, I struggled with finding a place that I felt like I could fit into my own skin. I didn’t struggle with friends per say, but I struggled in connecting with myself. Up until recently, I can say that I have finally planted roots in my own ground thanks to poetry. In January 2023, I self published my first book of poetry Paragraphs and Pirouettes through Amazon. At first, I struggled with the idea of self publishing, I thought that my work would not truly be considered published if I was doing it myself, but I quickly learned some of my favorite poets first began through the self publishing route which eased my anxieties to say the least.
My poetry is without question SLAM poetry, it reads like a dance and when heard it makes you want to move. There is a certain rhythm to the way I write, which I believe provides an entirely different feel in comparison to the classics I teach in the classroom. My book, Paragraph and Pirouettes dances through ideas of love, family, heartbreak, and laughter all in short poems not exceeding a few paragraphs. I couldn’t say what I love most about my book because it is, what I would imagine to be, similar to a first born; I love everything about it, but I enjoy that even a person who does not seek joy in poetry can find peace in mine. If I knew writing a book of poetry would have gotten my students to read and enjoy poetry the way they do now, I would have written one a long time ago. When you teach the world that they too can become an author, then the world becomes a little less afraid to read and write.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Be Unapologetic.
In a world where we have become so inclined to apologize to avoid confrontation, it is easy to apologize for things we aren’t even sorry for. When writing my book, I sometimes would stop and ask myself…”Is this offensive?” or “Am I being rude?” Then I realized, it is not me who reads these words, it is the world, and if the world does not have a backbone then they need to start carrying more books to strengthen themselves.

Don’t Take Anything Personal.
I had to rid myself of the irrational fear of my poetry being criticized. When my first and only 4, but not 5 star review hit my Amazon page, I won’t deny that I took it personally. A family friend who was being honest took to my review page with honesty and instead of constructive criticism, I took it a little too personally. Then I realized, that’s exactly who I chose to be in my poetry; I chose to be honest. How could I not expect honesty from my readers in return?

Be Vulnerable.
As a poet, I share, I have been told a few times that I overshare. I share to connect, I share to educate, I share to learn, but more importantly…I share to grow. In my weakest of moments, I have found the most strength in my vulnerability. I have been able to reflect, revise, and resubmit parts of me in this art of living that I would never have seen had I not just let go. Share. Be Vulnerable. Be Brave.

If you’re looking for a little more on how to achieve these, my advice would be: The Four Agreements Don Miguel Ruiz (b your backbone with a book).

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

Within the book, On Writing by Stephen King, he mentions that a person can write a book in a season. More specifically, King states,

“I believe the first draft of a book—even a long one—should take no more than three months, the length of a season… I like to get ten pages a day, which amounts to 2,000 words. That’s 180,000 words over a three-month span, a goodish length for a book—something in which the reader can get happily lost, if the tale is done well and stays fresh.”

I took King’s advice literally. I set aside an hour a day, sometimes two hours for ninety days, and Paragraphs and Pirouettes was born. On Writing by Stephen King, provided me with a sense of confidence that I went without prior to publishing.The memoir painted his monsters with colors that enhanced the visuals my dreams. It no longer was “I Hafta” to write this book, but rather “I wanna” write this book.

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