My Life in Rhyme

You are not alone in your search to figure out what you want - orwho you are. Elle Kay So, who is Elle Kay? the reporter asked. Define and describeher for us. I paused. Truth be told, I didn t know. The lines between who I was, whomy parents created, and who I had grown to be because of theindelible imprint of external forces, were all so intertwined thatI didn t know where I began and where those influences ended. The standards I held myself to, the expectations I had of others,my likes and dislikes, the answer to what was right versus wrong,what I considered appropriate or inappropriate, and the questionI had just been asked - had all been determined for me. I m not sure what to say, the words stumbled awkwardly frommy lips as my face grew red. The one thing I did know, was hiddenin the back of my closet were sheets of paper that held the answer. Since I can remember, I had chronicled events in my life fromlove triangles to tragic deaths, family feuds to body dysmorphia,religious questions to business dilemmas - and I had captured itall through poetry. The sum total of who I was, or at least the search to find out, layin those, and now these pages - My Life in Rhyme: One Woman sPoetic Journey to Find Herself.