We recently connected with Lauren Mendoza-Routt and have shared our conversation below.

Lauren, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

From a young age, I knew my world was inward. I spent hours creating realities inside of my mind and in my dreams, until one day I grabbed a pen and paper and started writing. First what began as a daily note taking of every day events, turned into descriptive words and eventually poetry and song lyrics. Since then, I’ve managed to pursue poetry and singing on the side, having received my MFA in poetry from The New School and taking up voice lessons at Wynwood School of Music here in Miami, Fl.

Lauren, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a writer and creative born and raised in Miami, Fl. I was trained as a singer from ages 13-18 with a main focus on classical arias and broadway music. I pursued my undergraduate degree in Pennsylvania and eventually received my Master’s of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at The New School. Currently, I work as a marketing professional and create art on the side.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

From an early age, I was told that working in the creative space doesn’t involve longevity. Unfortunately, this keeps people from pursuing their true passions. I had to unlearn the idea that art has no monetary possibilities and beyond that relearn that pursuing art doesn’t always need to involve compensation. I find joy in writing in between meetings or on the weekend. Not everything needs to be capitalized.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Although my passion for writing and singing bloomed from a young age, I spent many years pursuing different career paths. One of the paths I chose was teaching. While I was teaching, my love for writing kept following me and I decided to take my chances and apply for my MFA in my second year. I ended up getting accepted and moved from Miami to New York where my career path completely changed.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @lapoetadivina
• Linkedin: Lauren Mendoza Routt

Image Credits

Image of me in sunglasses: Laquann Dawson
Poetry published by Dreamers Creative Writing
Image of me sitting down taken during Aja Monet’s exhibit at Bakehouse Art Complex