I had the great fortune of speaking with our blogger of the month Emily Donville, over Starbucks and a gelato, about her experience and on Youth Are Awesome and her journey as an individual in her own life.
So without further ado ladies and gentlemen presenting our talented and diligent blogger, Emily Donville!
What does blogging and Youth Are Awesome mean to you?
“I think I enjoy blogging because it gives me a platform to express my ideas. I wrote a poem for my junior high grad and apparently it was “too serious” and they said that this isn’t the platform for me which definitely disappointed me. However Youth Are Awesome has become a place for me to express myself and not feel like I’m confined in boundaries.”
Where does your inspiration come from in terms of the blogs you write?
“I think I find a lot of my inspiration from Tumblr because I follow a lot of blogs that are all about human rights and black lives matter. I considered writing a post about Sandra Bland because that is a really important topic to discuss. Tumblr is also how I found the Don’t Crash Crop my Cornrows video and Tumblr in general has just provided me with a lot of material to work from.”
You wrote an article about the Generation of Body Diversity, if you had to give advice regarding that topic to someone what would you say?
“Be yourself and don’t be you’re own enemy. Be your own best friend and just don’t care about what others think because it really doesn’t matter. Your own healthy and happiness is what matters.”
Aside from blogging what are some other interests that you have?
“I really like to draw, I enjoy writing stories, and I love to play music. I play the trumpet and the piano.”
How does the art in your life affect who you are as a person?
“Writing really allows me to discover myself more and express myself. I also like to do art but at times I get disappointed because I critique it way more than my writing. Partially because I am more confident in my writing abilities because of the successes I’ve had. I really can’t see what else I’d do with my time.”
What are some challenges that writing has helped you overcome?
“On a personal level it allows me to own up to how I am feeling and to reflect myself. It allows me to confront my emotions. I am a very firm believer in the fact that it is not healthy to bottle up your emotions and writing helps me evaluate how I am feeling and act up on it. Writing allows me to be the happiest person I could be.”
What has been your favourite blog to write about?
“Generation of Body Positivity and Don’t Crash my Cornrows because I am speaking about issues that are really relevant, even on a global scale. I like writing about human rights and mental health because it is really affecting our generation.”
Speaking about issues relevant to our generation, what’s your take on the advancements of technology in our day to day lives?
“The fact that teens are becoming more shy and nervous to talk to a person face to face is scary, they are hiding behind their technology. People used to walk to their friends house to talk but now its over texting which is causing a gap. A communication gap. I see people texting in class and that’s just an example of bad usage of technology, you should be focusing on the material you are learning. We need to take a moment and ask ourselves if we are using technology appropriately, everything is okay in moderation, just don’t let it control you.”
How important is education and what meaning does it add to your life?
“I love gaining new information, I really like to stand behind Malala she is one of my biggest role models because there are females in other countries that don’t have access to education where as boys do. If I could write about that and leave an impact that’ll be amazing. I know that one day we will reach equality but not at the moment. I will definitely advocate for it because education is really important to me.”
Who is your number one fan that encourages you to always do your best?
“My number one fan is definitely my mom, whenever I write blogs she posts it on her Facebook and is overall just so supportive.”
How do you feel when your work is being appreciated?
“It’s a really big boost for me, especially when it is positive, it helps me grow as a writer. In the past I have received some negative feedback which hasn’t made me feel the greatest, but you know when you’re writing you have to deal and learn to handle with the positives and the negatives.”
How do you cope or deal with that negativity?
“I think I usually tend to brush it off, there have been some people in my life who haven’t been the best of friends, which an upcoming blog post will tell you more about, but basically I just have learned how to remove toxic people from my life. It’s okay to let people go when they are only bringing you down. I am a firm believer that if you are friends with someone who wouldn’t care for you as much as you care for them, don’t stick around, because you deserve people who will love you unconditionally.”
What advice to you have for other youth?
“This is going to sound really cliche but seriously just be yourself, no need to be someone you’re not. I see a lot of people who are trying to be someone they aren’t and it is just not worth it. There are plenty of people that will love you for you.”