The Brilliant Mind of a Vocal Creator

I became a content creator on Vocal in March 2018 and celebrated five years of being on this amazing platform. Since joining Vocal, I've had one story featured as a Top Story (August 2023) and a plethora of tips, which I appreciate very much. 2018 wasn't a great year for me personally, as I was homeless, jobless, and going through other personal issues. During those dark times, I was at my local library and all of a sudden, I ran into a site, which would later be Vocal. When I was in grade school, I loved writing my thoughts in notebooks. As I've stated in previous stories, my household and part of my childhood was hostile, abusive, and toxic. Decades later, writing gave me an opportunity to let my imagination fly, but at the same time, sharing my thoughts with everyone online. There is no age limit on being creative. During those aforementioned darker times, writing gave me an outlet to formulate on topics that matter to me and inform others on. Every year on October 20 is the National Day on Writing, celebrating writing in all forms. According to numerous online sources, there are positive benefits of jotting down your reflections on either pen and paper or digitally. These pick-me-ups such as helping you become more creative, improving as a writer, learning more about yourself, reducing stress, and building up your confidence.

In 2023, I've written nearly a dozen stories on Vocal and my writing goal is to surpass that amount. By how much is yet to be seen. A majority of the stories I write are about cosplay and conventions. However, I compose stories about the topics that are personally important to me such as LGBTQ+ issues and racial inequality. As a queer, autistic black writer who exists online, I believe that spreading the message on topics like these is necessary and crucial. Many conservatives, including those in government, see these issues as "woke". In other words, they're opposed to equality and inclusion for LGBTQ+ people and other minorities, because to them, their lives don't matter and shouldn't be focused on. Plus, in countless states, there are bans on certain books that talk about topics such as race and gender identity. What's worse is that there's a law in Florida, preventing students from using a teacher's preferred pronouns. I advocate for the voiceless and those who can't defend themselves. My anecdotes on Vocal may be "woke" to you, but it's also important to have an open mind and see things from another person's perspective instead of being dismissive of one's thoughts or feelings. Plus, it's significant to not continually search for problems or make connections about everything when they're aren't any.

Being on a platform like Vocal gives me an opportunity as a content creator to freely speak my mind. I know that I might step on some toes or have dissenters, but that's part of being online. Everyone won't agree with me all the time on certain things. However, it's imperative for me to be honest about the things that I say and be held accountable for them. I want to make sure that I'm sending truthful and meaningful messages to others. I feel that authors and writers like myself are constantly under attack because of curmudgeonly politicians who refuse to focus on real issues that are affecting millions of Americans, such as addressing the high cost of food, housing, and ways to keep our neighborhoods safe. Censoring meaningful content that might be beneficial and relatable to others is the least of their problems. All they're doing is policing libraries, schools and us. Yet, they accuse us for "silencing" them because of their conservative views or being cancelled by us, which is not the case. Besides, you can't shield children or people in general from everything. Curiosity should be fearless and not being scrutinized.

To conclude this story, here's a quote from Margaret Atwood:

"A word after a word after a word is power."

Be sure to follow me on TikTok, Instagram, and on Threads, which you can find info on those in my profile. Also, leave me a one-off tip at the end of this story, big or small. It'll encourage me to write more stories on Vocal and support creators like me.