Local StoriesNovember 18, 2022

Life & Work with Sarah Oropeza

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Oropeza.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I originally started writing poetry when I was 12 years old. I picked it up from my dad, who would write letters and poems in his free time. My dad worked a lot, sometimes three jobs at a time, so when he wrote, it was for birthdays or special occasions. Since he worked so much, there was little time to create emotional connections with each other, so when he wrote, it was like a peek inside of his head. It was like he was this tangible thing that I could touch and love. He didn’t speak much about his feelings, trauma, or past, but when he did, it was through writing. His passionate tear-jerking style of writing shaped the way I write today.

At the beginning of my junior year in high school (2008), I gave birth to my daughter Adriana, I was 16. That year I homeschooled myself, so my mom wouldn’t have to quit her job to raise my baby. My dad was already providing financially for us, and I wanted to lessen the burden of feeding another child on my parents. Loneliness, heartbreak, single motherhood, and depression consumed me during this time. I wrote poems to ease the pain in between bottle feeding, changing diapers, studying, and surviving. Writing my feelings out made the pain less brutal and allowed me some release. With the beautiful support of my entire family, I persevered and returned to high school during my senior year at JC Harmon. I even got to play soccer and graduated.

Fast forward to May 2013, I graduated community college and moved to Houston, Texas, with my then-boyfriend to give a new life a try. I became pregnant with my son Antonio, and unfortunately, things turned for the worst. I had to make some pretty hard decisions, and I decided to move back to Kansas City and take single motherhood on for the second time. I got a job at a nearby Salvation Army with my great friend Dominic, who ensured I had a ride to work and home every day. I worked until the day I gave birth to my 10-pound baby boy. Since single motherhood wasn’t new to me, I knew what it would take mentally and emotionally to overcome the coming years. During this time, I didn’t write. I had nothing to say to myself, and I didn’t want to face what I already knew – life would be hard. And it was.

After giving birth to my son, I worked multiple jobs at a time. I even unloaded freight trucks overnight with two of my close girlfriends, Angie and Jametta. As alone as I felt, I was not truly alone. I had beautiful support all my life, even at work. But there was still something missing in me, this loud wound that wouldn’t quiet. One night, while unloading the freight truck, my friend brought up a poetry video online. It was Alysia Nicole Harris performing her famous poem “That Girl.” I watched that poem in between stocking shelves, and it lit a fire in me. It took up the empty space I was carrying. I knew then that poetry was supposed to be in my life. I didn’t know how or when, or why. All I knew was that I had two children to feed, and they needed me more than I needed poetry.

Another great friend, Kenny, knew unloading freight trucks by hand was physically killing me. He got me a job at The Center for Behavioral Medicine (CBM) in the fall of 2017. I still worked overnights because I didn’t have childcare during the day for my son. I had the hope that I could excel in a career in psychology, so, In the fall of 2018, I enrolled myself at The University of Kansas. I worked overnight, attended school full-time (online), raising two children, one in school and one out of school; with all the busyness, I could still hear the whisper that something in me was missing. I wrote poems during the night shift when I wasn’t studying for class. It had been at least a year since I last wrote. I wrote about the previous years. About my pain, losses, mistakes, and heartbreak from men I desperately wanted to love, and about my childhood. I shared my poems online via Facebook and Instagram, and each time I shared, my followers were moved and asked for more until one day, someone asked me, “Where is the book?”. At the time, I didn’t believe I had a book living in me. I was still programmed to believe that success comes from education or a career.

In December 2021, I graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in sociology. During that same time, I was asked by my friend Breana Gray – Baby B, a local Kansas City rapper, to perform a poem at her upcoming show. She believed in my art and pushed me to get on stage, a dream of mine that I was so afraid to fulfill. She also asked Alexis Briones to perform, a fantastic poet and a dear friend that I admire. I met Alexis in October of 2021. We had yet to perform on stage despite all the poems we had written, and we were terrified. (Alexis is also a staple in my story; she not only helped edit my book and brought many of my poems to life with her influence and passion, she has lit a fire in me. A fire that wouldn’t exist without her support and love.)

The show was in February of 2022, and Alexis and I both got on stage and performed for the first time. I performed “The Poison in my Truth” pg 54 of my book. I spoke my truth out loud and the room filled with voices cheering, tears, and applause. I had never used my voice to express my art before. The emptiness in me seemed to evaporate instantly. I couldn’t hear the whisper that something was off or that the path I was on was off. I was floating in that room, and everyone could feel me radiating. I wish I could explain what I felt on the inside, but all I can say was in that moment, I felt aligned. It was the first time in my life that I knew what my purpose was; poetry. Since that day, I have performed multiple times for book readings, open mics, and more local shows in Kansas City. All thanks to Breana for giving me the push to believe in myself.

Immediately after performing in February, I began formulating a book. I already had many poems written and had previously attempted to put a book together. I had a layout, and I just needed to execute it. With Adobe Indesign, Adobe Illustrator, dozens of “How to” YouTube videos, therapy sessions with friends, many tears, and hundreds of moments of doubt, I finally had the book. It was in my hands. Something I didn’t believe could be true manifested before me. My book was previously titled after my most famous poem, “The Poison in my Truth.” But it didn’t feel right. I wanted my book to reflect all the pain I have overcome, my life, young motherhood and heartbreak.

I was raised in a Catholic household, and It was pretty strict. I also attended Catholic school up until my sophomore year in high school. In this religion, I was taught to believe that my savior was Jesus, men were superior to me, I would be someone’s wife, raise his children, and that my highest achievement in life was to get married. A man was supposed to find me and save me; if it weren’t him, it would be God himself. Of course, I found out early that this was untrue. When you have a child early like me and have to raise that child alone, you learn quickly that you are the only person who is coming to save you. I have always been my own God.

The first poem of my book, “It burns when you touch it,” is after the poet Alysia Nicole Harris. The one who lit the fire in me to write when I didn’t know I could write again. The last poem of my book is a poem my father wrote to me when I was 14. A poem about a pain living in me, a pain that I believe he saw because it lived in him too. —a homage to both Alysia and my father, James.

The book was available for pre-order on October 17th, 2022, to which we made over 100 pre-order sales as a self-published indie author. October 28th, 2022, was my book ” My God is no Man” release day. Currently, we are over 150 in sales and counting- my greatest success right after my children. I am eternally grateful.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road to writing a book has been challenging. I am self-published, so that comes with skills you already have or have to learn. The road was not smooth because it was all new to me. Editing, illustrating, and learning how to use Adobe Illustrator and InDesign were harsh. My most difficult challenge was getting the pages properly formatted and the page bleeds correctly. When you upload your finished book and book cover for review, you must include the bleed for printing, something I was unaware of. Watching multiple YouTube videos and fixing the format various times was hard. I couldn’t get it right until I saw a YouTube video that walked me step by step. Once I figured out that part, it was easy!

Another struggle was realizing that artists do not get paid enough. After printing and paying for distribution, the take home for self-published writers in below minimum wage. A real struggle that I am still working through.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a poet and author of “My God is No Man.” I specialize in writing poetry about the painful yet beautiful experiences of women and mothers so that they can reclaim their one and true God, themselves. I am known for my passionate truth-telling through poetry. I have gained exposure for my emotional writing style via social media and this year by performing my poems live at various local events to connect with my community. This year I translated my trauma and experiences into a poetry book that others can read and possibly relate to, which I am most proud of. I am different from the others because I say what many people won’t, which is the harsh truth. I don’t want my readers to have to “figure out” what I’m trying to say because sometimes poetry can be challenging to understand, especially if you aren’t familiar with different writing styles. Instead, I tell my readers my truth by using unique storytelling and metaphors that strike an emotion and are simple enough to understand. My motto is “Telling the truth is an act of love.” When we tell the truth, good or bad, we give love in its highest form, which is what I strive to do – to love.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
My advice is to finish your book before anything else. Do not worry about formatting, editing, illustrations, legal questions, etc. Please finish your book. A mistake I made was trying to do everything at the same time. I felt exhausted and didn’t want to write some days. Focus on the art first; you’re an artist. Everything else will come with time.

I wish I knew before starting that it would be a lonely road. Writing can get lonely. You need quiet time with yourself and you have to be able to tell people “no” so that you can prioritize your art. It gets lonely so be sure to create a community that you can lean on when it does get lonely.

Your art must mean more to you than ANYTHING else. In order for others to love and appreciate your art, you have to do it first. If you aren’t posting, reciting, or promoting your art, no one will look for it. It starts with you.

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