Today we’d like to introduce you to Famo Musa.
Hi Famo, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born in Somalia but raised in Kenya, where my family and I settled as refugees until I was 12 years old. I came to America in 2004; I didn’t speak English. I started school in middle school in 7th grade. For the first two years, I felt invisible because I couldn’t communicate with my teachers or my peers, so everyone mostly ignored me, and I felt like a floating cloud, waiting for my turn. I started to pick up the language, here and there when I started high school to a point where I began keeping a journal and writing everything down. That was my journey of how my writing started. I got better and better each year, but it felt like I blinked, and it was five years later, and I was fluent in English and finished high school. I now own over 5 journals, and I can see the progress of my writing getting better.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Getting to where I am today was a struggle. I speak over four languages, but I can only write in English, and to this day, I still have issues with the grammar rules. I didn’t get to graduate on time because I couldn’t pass my exit exam because it wasn’t catered to someone like me, but this just motivated me to keep trying so I went to adult school and took the test three later, I got my diploma in the mail. I am a first-generation graduate, so I couldn’t go to my parents for help with my school or preparing for higher education. I went to the community to get my photography degree, then went to another community to get my English degree, which I transferred with to get my bachelor’s. It was a long, lonely road without role models and people to help me plan my future. I had to research everything and then convince my parents about wanting to study literature and photography, with African parents who wanted their children to be doctors and lawyers, so it was a long battle. I learned a lot in my journey about financial aid, which schools were the right fit, and how I was going to pay for them, but it all worked out in the end. I found a lot of people who helped me along the way.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a photographer and writer. I have been doing both for over ten years simultaneously. I use my photography to tell my community’s stories and to preserve memories by capturing life-changing events. One thing that fueled my passion is the fact that many people don’t know much about my community, and I made it my mission to introduce them to the mainstream by starting local. I also use my writing for journalism where I write about issues impacting my community. I recently focused my writing on the creative side of it after getting my bachelor’s in literature and creative writing. I am proud of all my past work and now my newest project of being a published author.
We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I do most of my talking through my work. Whether that is photography or writing. What many people don’t know is that my recent work is more personal because it is where I turned the lens towards me, whereas before, it was mostly about my community as a whole.
Pricing:
- My debut poetry collection is now available wherever you get your books for $9.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://speakcityheights.org/?s=famo+musa
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/famoswriting/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/famomusa90/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/famo-musa-4a91411b2/
- Other: linktr.ee/famoswriting
Image Credits
Osman Osman
