Writing poetry has provided the perfect escape for Krystal Morrow.
As someone diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, Morrow deals with daily battles that can limit her ability to move, to walk, to function. But she has found her passion for poetry as a student at Dallas College.
“Behind the pen, no one can see your limitations,” she said. “You can be anything, you can do anything, and that’s what’s most inspiring. As long as you have a vision, you can soar with it. The more I write, the more I realize there’s a lot of power in words to positively affect others.”
Morrow’s gift for writing poetry received recognition as her poem, “Soothed,” earned a League for Innovation literary award. Morrow and fellow League for Innovation award winner, Cadence Glidewell, were honored during Dallas College’s Board of Trustees meeting on Oct. 1.
Morrow spoke about her poem, saying part of the inspiration for it came from her running for president of Phi Theta Kappa.
“All of the emotions and feelings and the waves I felt in my current life mirrored my poetry perfectly. It was a lovely experience,” Morrow said. “There were a lot of emotions while taking on this role, writing speeches and just going through the process of candidacy for president.”
Hunting Ghosts
For Glidewell, her award winner came in the fiction category for a short story titled “Ghost Ward.” Glidewell has always loved watching ghost hunting shows and put her own spin on it.
“It’s a fun piece about two ghost hunters. One of the ghost hunters is actually a nonhuman creature, and the other one doesn’t know that,” Glidewell said. “Then shenanigans ensue. So, just a fun little dynamic I came up with.”
As far as submitting it in the League for Innovation, Glidewell credited her professor, Trevor Fuller, for making her aware of the competition and encouraging students to take part in it.
“He thought it would be a really cool opportunity, especially since publishers look for writers who enter competitions,” Glidewell said. “I figured, why not take a chance? I like this piece, I’m proud of it, so I submitted it and something great happened.”
Looking Ahead
Morrow and Glidewell both have a passion for writing and the League for Innovation honors serves as reassurance of their talents going forward.
“I feel inspired to publish and do more because of this experience,” Morrow said.
At 20, Glidewell is still exploring her options but will always have a desire to write even if it doesn’t materialize into a full-time job.
“The field can be brutal. The more you learn about it, the tougher it seems,” Glidewell said. “However, I really, really love writing. … If I were to publish, I would want it to be not-for-profit. I’d just want to get my story out there.”
Dallas College Proud
As Dallas College continues its push to end community college stigma, Morrow and Glidewell join a list of others who have become examples of the great things students regularly do from the community college ranks.
“I think community college gets a bad rap due to elitism,” Glidewell said. “You get people in the environment of community college where it’s more accessible, where they have goals, where they’re taking steps toward those goals. We say, ‘I’m going to fight and prove that I belong here and that I don’t need your approval.’”
Glidewell chuckled and added: “Just spitting on elitism, which is everyone’s favorite thing to do, you know?”
Morrow echoed those thoughts as her life has been rejuvenated through the community college experience.
“If I can inspire even one person to attend community college, (I’d say) do it. There’s so much potential here. It’s worth it,” she said. “I wish there wasn’t a stigma since it’s really about just getting a good education.”
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