01:12

Lacey Roop

Austin, TX USA

"Never lose your sense of empathy or awe, and be proud of your existence; because your existence is a wonder, and something to be in awe of."

Career Roadmap

Lacey's work combines: Art, Writing, and Being Creative

See more careers and stories that connect to your interests.

Spoken Word Poet

I'm a spoken word artist and discuss gender & sexuality, marginalized voices, and women-empowerment through my work.

I used writing poetry as a way to write myself out of depression and get away from negativity.

High School
Bachelor's Degree
English Language and Literature, General
Texas State University-San Marcos

I've taken a lot of twists and turns

1.
Raised in Tupelo, Mississippi and is the first of four living generations to leave Mississippi.
2.
Being gay, she felt disconnected in her hometown, where gayness was made invisible.
3.
Headed toward Seattle, the farthest she could get from home by car; stopped in Austin, never left.
4.
Didn't start writing until Austin: "I didn't know I even had the capacity to do what I do now."
5.
Says: "I was always a writer at heart, but I was never in an environment where that was encouraged."
6.
Though some of her poems come from a dark place, they bloom into something beautiful.
7.
Says: Just like a tomato plant won't grow in the desert, people thrive in different environments.
8.
The beauty of life, she says, is the people you see, the stories you tell, and how they affect us.

Keep following my journey

THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You're crazy. This is not the way you should live. This is not the way you're supposed to be.
How I responded:
I used writing poetry as a way to write myself out of depression and get away from negativity.

Experiences and challenges that shaped me

Click to expand

I am gay and I've known that for a very long time. I couldn't be in a place where that was invisible and was taught to be invisible.
I'm the first person out of four living generations to leave Mississippi. It was too microscopic of a place for me and I knew that I had to leave. I decided to go to Seattle, but ended up stopping in Austin, TX and have been here ever since.

No related leaders found