The purpose of this column is to highlight a Northeastern student each week. Our goal is to shed light on students who may otherwise not get an opportunity to share their story. Each week will showcase a different student’s unique traits or passion.
One of the great things about being in such a diverse school is that each person has their own story, a story not everyone is always aware of. This week I have the pleasure of highlighting Andrea Diaz, a second-year Communication Studies major who has self-published her own poetry book. Diaz is from the Dominican Republic and has always been a creative person. She is very focused on self empowerment and independence. Diaz explained that she is extremely interested in the classes she has been taking because they explore concepts of interpersonal relationships, something that she has been intrigued by for a while. Many might assume communications revolves around writing or TV, but she enjoys it because she gets to learn about interactions between people and why people act the way we do. When asked about the opportunities Northeastern has given her, Diaz expressed that she has met a lot of people from around the world who have been able to teach her things she would never have learned otherwise.
The story I wanted to highlight about Diaz is the story of her book, “Chaotic Innocence”. This was her passion project in 2016. She spent six months writing poetry, with the guidance of her dad, about encounters that would inspire her in her daily life. Her dad was the one who encouraged Diaz to write this book. Since she was completing her International Baccalaureate diploma at the time, stress was a common emotion. However, she never lost motivation and always had the drive to complete her book. She considers herself a deep thinker and this is reflected in her work. The topics she wrote about included miscarriage, loss, and homelessness. External research was required when discussing such heavy topics in order to do them justice as she tried her best to connect with and understand what these emotions were. In addition to the poems she wrote, she accompanied her writing with self-produced paintings which were all completed within a month. She worked with a graphic designer to put the pieces together in a cohesive book that was released in 2017 and sold in the Dominican Republic.
After hearing about how much hard work and dedication went into this self-publication, I wanted to know what this book meant to Diaz. To her, this book was a way for her to communicate her feelings. It “is a collection of thoughts at a certain time that she wanted to share with others.” Diaz voiced that she wouldn’t go back and edit these poems because they captured the way she felt in that moment. By selling this book to the public, she was able to share her feelings and inspiration with a greater audience. She said that she had received messages from readers expressing their appreciation for her words. Because of this, she’s felt tremendous pride and sees this publication as a huge accomplishment. Since her interest in poetry and painting sparked in high school, this book was a realization of one of her dreams.
Not every second-year college student can say they’ve published a book that is sold in bookstores abroad. Diaz expressed that she is hoping to write another book in the future to sell in Boston. She remains extremely involved in the poetry world by writing poems whenever inspiration sparks. She also attended book tours by Rupi Kaur and Atticus. Aside from poetry, she has interests in other art forms. An art form that she’s taken particular interest in is photography. Photography is another way of telling a story. One of her hopes is that she can create a book showcasing her own photography alongside her poetry. The purpose of photography in her book would be to set the mood of the poem without giving away its interpretation. It is not there to paint the full picture, instead, it should lead the reader’s feeling a certain direction.
Diaz’s advice for anyone interested in publishing their work is to “do it” and to not be afraid. She emphasized the idea that artists should remember their worth and the weight of their words; “What you say is worth something and it will matter.” In our current day and age, it’s so easy to share and spread ideas. Diaz encouraged everyone to express themselves if they want to and to embrace creativity in its greatest form.