We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brookie Madison a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Brookie , appreciate you joining us today. We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today.

I would start to live for myself sooner if I had the chance to start over. I spent a lot of time doing things that I thought people wanted me to do and doing things for other people’s approval. If I started over, I would make sure that I would take the time to learn myself, so that no one’s opinion of me held any weight to my own. I would seek out writing communities sooner because the people that I’ve met in person, via social media, and in different writing groups have encouraged and motivated me in so many ways and they continue to do so. I’d hope to have more confidence in myself because then may be I would have fought for my own dreams of becoming a writer, poet, and published author sooner. I would have had the courage to go to open mics and perform my work and take pride in everything that I have felt, cried, and healed from.

Brookie , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m truly a writer at heart. I’ve written songs, short stories, and poetry since elementary school, so I’m so grateful to have never stopped and to have a fulfilling relationship with words that allows me to connect with others and to free my mind. I also write professionally as a journalist and freelancer, so my poetry and creative work is me being myself and my professional work is me wanting to help others and inform them about different topics.

I become motivated when I am helping others reach a goal (personal or professional), which is why I love creating content for myself and for others. I love coming up with creative ways to tell stories and to captivate people’s attention, even if for a short amount of time. I do this through writing, photography, social media, and videography mainly. For instance, I was dealing with my own mental health issues and realized that so many people around me were going through similar situations. It encouraged me to create an entire series focused on mental health in the Black community and gave people the space to be vulnerable and share what it’s like and how they cope. I also think I’m hilarious, so I create content that makes people laugh and forget about their worries.

I’m most proud of being genuinely myself and how that has aligned me with people who respect it, want to work with me, want to buy my book, and believe in what I say I’m going to do. I have a very strong work ethic and passion for all things creative. I only create work that I believe and feel confident in putting my name on and if there’s something that I don’t know or can’t do, I will try to teach myself and keep working at it until it’s done right.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to create work that feels right and makes me proud of myself. I believe that’s the best way to honor yourself and continue to enjoy what you do. Another goal I have is to amplify Black voices, Black joy, and Black livelihood. I want people to feel comfortable and trust me to tell their story because they know that I will do it right. I also want to continuously be a student and learn from others. I’m not afraid to admit my weaknesses, but I’m always wanting to figure out what I can learn from someone else. I’m so grateful to have found people that have let me pick their minds and who have become my mentors and colleagues. Not only do we support and celebrate each other, but we help and guide each other through workshops, readings, editing, and providing feedback. Lastly, I want to be a resource to other writers, authors, and poets. Any knowledge that I may have, I’m quick to share it with whomever because I believe there’s enough room for all of us. My only competition is me.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

A time when I had to pivot was when I had to quit my first job. I’m the type of person who wants to excel at everything that I put my mind to and I don’t quit things until I’ve done my job successfully. This also was at a time in my life when I felt like I was behind peers I had graduated with. All I saw on social media and LinkedIn were people getting their first jobs, first cars, and first apartments. I wanted to have something to share, but I wasn’t having any luck getting hired in broadcast journalism. So, I ended up taking a position as a writer.

I was having a hard time performing well in my role. I didn’t feel prepared for it and that made it hard to be passionate it. It ultimately was taking a toll on my mental health. I felt like I couldn’t quit because I hadn’t mastered it yet, but at the same time my creative brain was not enticed. I compensated for the lack of fulfillment outside of work. I was throwing myself into many creative projects to the point where I was burning myself out. It had gotten to the point where I had to decide whether or not to quit my job or to stay and potentially get fired. So, I quit and didn’t have a back up plan. I really needed that break mentally, emotionally, and physically. Thankfully, I had developed a nice savings account and was still living at home. I was able to take my time and to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and I realized that I needed to be in positions where I am interacting with people and creating things. That was a non-negotiable that I had to learn for myself. I don’t regret my first job at all. I met some great people, it taught me how to “adult,” it taught me that I need to mind my mental health, and it taught me the type of work I need to be doing to thrive.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brookiemmadison.com
• Instagram: @brookiemmadison.poetry

Image Credits
Dominic Price Victor Matos Brookie Madison