We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lea Camille Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Lea Camille, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I was sitting in my house in 2020 during the height of COVID quarantine, gearing up for another semester of school where I was studying social work. Though writing has always been a part of my life, I’d taken a step back from it when I started my undergrad a few years earlier. During the isolation of quarantine, I found myself writing again, turning back to the thing that I had leaned on since I was gifted a journal in 4th grade and found that writing helped me process both the world around and inside me. I wrote poem after poem about loneliness, lost relationships, the tumultuous political landscape, and my obsession with music.
Ten days before I was due to return to what I liked to call “Zoom University,” at that time, I felt myself dread another semester of something I thought fit well with my ethos: leave the world better than I found it. But the very thought of going back to school for social work made me feel uneasy. In response, I wrote about it, pondering what I should do. In that process, I realized the obvious. The new path was staring me in the face.
I looked at my school’s website, the English department, a possible minor in creative writing. I emailed my advisor. Then, a week before the semester started, and halfway through my undergraduate degree, I changed my major. I wanted to write, learn about the greats that wrote the books I’d devoured and been inspired by over the years, and master the craft of storytelling. Then, I thought, I want to teach it to the next generation of writers.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
After graduating with my English and Creative Writing degree, I decided to pursue an MFA, while simultaneously working toward publishing my writing, starting my freelance business, and facilitating my first writing class. Throughout this journey, I have continued to follow my commitment to make the world better. I’ve worn many hats in my life, and I prefer it that way. Currently I write articles on topics that I am familiar and passionate about, such as nonprofits, food and climate systems work, agriculture, women’s health, travel, and gardening. I serve as the Executive Editor for the Stonecoast Review Literary Journal, and I also create content and write grant applications for small nonprofits in New England. I work to tell the stories of nonprofits through articles and social media, gaining them traction and awareness for their efforts.
Recently, I have blended my yoga and mindfulness teaching experience with my love of writing to create my monthly writing group, Writing Forward. I encourage my participants to dig deep into their experiences for creativity, to write fearlessly, and to leave judgement at the door. Much of this work is based on my graduate research on the effectiveness of writing on the reduction of the symptoms of PTSD and Trauma. There is promising research out there, and I can personally vouch for the healing power of writing.
My schedule consists of a shared balance between writing articles and creating social media content, bettering food systems in New England, working on my short story collection, Voices That Carry, and planning and facilitating Writing Forward classes.
I’m grateful that I decided to pursue writing and take the leap to change my major during my undergraduate degree. It was one of those decisions that I made and immediately felt a prominent shift. A deep release that let me know I was on the right path.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Every day I start with a blank canvas (page). To have the freedom to fill it with the words of my choice in the arrangement that holds the most meaning to me is truly a gift. The work that I create is more often than not a reflection of something I have been pondering or grappling with. Through my words, I am able to start to make sense of some of those issues or ideas. In turn, I have more clarity, drive, and awareness that’s brought out through doing something I enjoy immensely.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Lurking in the background of my life, and sometimes jumping to the foreground, is the continued mystery of my chronic pain and illnesses. I have spent countless days bedridden by various ailments, forced to recon with my isolation while the world continues to move outside my door. While there is no need to name each of these sicknesses, I can say that I’ve experienced deep, prolonged pain, uncertainty, and despair at what I have to deal with.
However, there is a silver lining. In those times that I have been forced to sit still, to pause my love of exercising and the outdoors, I find that my most meaningful work is produced. From the pain comes the beauty. Much of my published work has been inspired by or covers the topics of how we, as humans, carry on in the face of adversity.
Though these experiences have caused great discomfort, there is no denying that those vulnerable moments also give me a deep well of inspiration to create something meaningful out of the painful. As I continue to navigate my ever-changing health, I am finding peace in that notion.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @leacamillesmith
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leasmith17/
- Other: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/leacamillesmith
