We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shanteria “Poetizer” Griglen . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shanteria “Poetizer” below.

Alright, Shanteria “Poetizer” thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I believe that the first thing you must have in order to be successful is vision. Once you see it, you have to mix in some faith and courage to seal the deal.

Success is whatever fills you, that thing that brings purpose full circle in your life.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Shanteria “Poetizer” Griglen is a Miami native, where the weather is tricky and the people are beautiful shades of diversity.

She is known as the little dynamic giant behind Poetizer Productions and made her mark in the city with her hit stageplay, “My Soul is Bleeding- Transforming Truth: It’s Time to Stop Lying” which has touched the hearts and minds thousands.

Shanteria “Poetizer” Griglen is classified as a playwright, director, producer, author, youth advocate, and world changer, inspiring those she has the privilege of coming into contact with daily.

She is currently a program manager at an all girls school where she has the ability to motivate and inspire young girls to use their talents as tools for personal development. She is currently pursuing a degree in film, TV, and digital production in hopes of evolving her writing into a platform to pursue various opportunities that will allow her to be intentional and create impact.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I was raised by my grandmother and not my mother and father. I would later learn in life that my parents were teenagers; they didn’t have the slightest clue about raising a kid.

For a lot of years, I blamed them for everything that went wrong in my life. I made myself believe that if I had both of my parents, my life would have turned out better, and I wouldn’t have had to experience the repercussions of pain.

Having absent parents introduced me to rejection, and I became a close friend with unworthiness throughout my life. I blamed my parents for all of it; I didn’t want to own any of the choices or decisions I had made.

I had to unlearn the story that I kept telling myself about my parents. The truth is I don’t know what or how my life would have turned out if my parents were present; it could have been worse and not better.

I had to learn that everything and I do mean everything happens for a reason, I carried the power to change my story all along, I may not have had all or been made aware of the tools but a negative doesn’t have to equal a negative.

Experiencing my childhood and all of its flaws has made me a better storyteller. ​I write from an authentic place because of my experience. I’m able to connect with people in a real way, and that is priceless!

I will forever be grateful for my journey.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Wheww… To think about it makes my nerves bad.

I was doing my second show, and about two weeks prior to opening night, one of my actors had life happen and could no longer be a part of the show.

Now you might be saying, that’s fine because you should have an understudy. Yeah, right, it was early on in my production/playwriting days, and I was clueless. I was trying to do all the things with the support of 2-3 people.

We searched high and low for a replacement, and nobody was available. So, I had to add actor to my classifications and get it done. Myself and the team had enough faith and been through too much to stop the show.

This was destiny, and I knew God wouldn’t fail me, so I learned those lines, and I got my no acting self on that stage, and we had a show. It was all designed to free me; the lines were me, it was my story, and I had to be the one to tell it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.poetizerproductions.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/PoetizerProductions
• Facebook: Facebook.com/PoetizerProductions
• Linkedin: LinkedIn.com/PoetizerProductions
• Twitter: Twitter.com/Poetizer
• Youtube: Youtube.com/PoetizerProductions
• Other: TikTok.com/PoetizerProductions

Image Credits
Dee Photography