Zo. J

La’Darius Jamison better known as Zo.j has been writing since the age of 13. He would find himself writing a lot because he often felt misunderstood, not heard, or made fun for feeling things. He took a break from writing to pursue other things such as basketball and the typical teenager activities. In the 10th grade, Zo.j was told to write a poem as an assignment for class. Not knowing of his gifts to write, Zo.j was noticed by his teacher for great penmanship and choice of words. Zo.j was told by his teacher that he should take writing seriously but it never came to his mind to write. All he wanted to do was play basketball. As life passed on Zo.j struggled with relationships and himself because he was told that he was too emotional and needed to ‘man up’. He went through a deep depression and even had suicidal thoughts due to the life he was living.

One day he was on the phone with a good friend of his and he gave the best advice he could have ever given zo.j. He informed Zo.j to instead of speaking about his problems, write about them and keep them to himself. Zo.j took heed to his friend’s advice and started to write again. After a numerous amount of poems written, Zo.j would notice how much potential his poetry had. He would share his poetry with others and it became relatable to them. Zo.j then saw his feelings as a gift instead of a hinderance and use his newly discovered ability to write for others and himself.