Today we’d like to introduce you to Felicia Hankins.
Felicia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Houston, TX. Life for me was a mix of love, loss, and pain. Starting as a teen, I was diagnosed with scleroderma which is a skin disease that caused a tightening on my face, discoloration on my hands and sores on my fingertips. There were many nights of crying in my mother’s arms because the pain was unbearable. I managed to maintain a normal teen life after things began getting better and found myself completely healed my junior year of high school. Throughout life, I’d always have an urge to help people or I’d always end up being the “go to” person whenever someone needed a shoulder to lean on. Well, sometimes our shoulders get weak when we don’t take care of ourselves properly. While I still had a lot of learning to do I married at nineteen. I began a journey in what I thought was the best decision ever but ended up losing me as time progressed. Marriage is truly what you make it, but it takes effort from both communication, laughter, and self-sacrificing in order to make it. I had my first child at 20(my daughter) and then at 22, I had my son.
While we had good days the bad days weighed more and the more I waited the sadder I became. I was accustomed to a two income household and afraid to do it on my own so I prayed hoping prayer would extend our expiration date. Throughout the years, I would write here and there just to release any thoughts that were painful. I wrote to feel free, to remove what was hurting and poetry became apart of me. My ex thought highly of my writings and would encouraged me to go to an open mic but I never did. I was married for 12 years and at year eight we separated and that’s when the light switch turned on. Who am I? What is my purpose? I had to eliminate in order to evolve, to find me again. Self-discovery was the new journey I lived daily. I have a quote that says, “They say, run into the arms of the ones who love you so I ran into myself”. Today, I perform poetry at the renowned Houston Improv. Today, I am writing a book focusing on self-love.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has not been smooth, but every bump shaped me into who I am today. The biggest challenge I faced is the loss of my father in 2016. I had to accept, let go, and pray to find comfort. I say release is healthy so for every bucket of tears that sit of your eyelids, cry them out of you.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Miracle The Poet – what should we know?
There is a deep message in my poems whether from my experience, the inspiration of others and/or world events. I am passionate in reaching people and I am grateful to do it by way of poetry. I’ve done motivational speaking at a few events in which I will eventually add keynote speaker to my resume. Growth is apart of me and what I seek to focus on in any areas I may lack.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.miraclethepoet.com
- Email: miraclethepoet@gmail.com
- Instagram: @miraclethepoet
- Facebook: Miracle The Poet
Image Credit:
Juss Fresh Media, Charles Andrews, Jason Oliphant
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