I spent 24 hours in Quincy, Massachusetts at the Readercon conference. I went to the conference to support one of the authors from the Infinite Constellations anthology. She was nominated for the Shirley Jackson Award. While she didn’t win the award, we had a fantastic time connecting with authors and readers.

I had an interesting experience cycling through past moments and literary connections at the conference. There was one bookstore in the booksellers’ room that had a table full of reminders. I walked up to the table and saw a book by one of my folks from Clarion West. I bought the book and then reached down to flip through an anthology. The first page I flipped to was a poem by my co-editor Khadijah Queen. Then I walked around the table and saw two books by two writers I attended a writing retreat with. On the other end of the table I saw a book by a writer I was in a writing group with, and another writer I met at a different speculative fiction conference.

Seeing all these reminders made me think of all the work I’ve done in the past. I worked hard to create space for myself as a writer and a thinker. I’ve been on panels and in community with so many of the writers at the conference. I also ran into one of my instructors from Clarion West and a radio host who had interviewed me twice. As I wandered the conference, I thought, “I belong here.” Not necessarily at that particular conference but in this community of writers and thinkers and creators.

I deeply want to reconnect with the part of me that played with ideas, that dove into a story without a roadmap or a destination—and I was reminded of that self over and over again during this short, intense period of interaction. It was inspiring and invigorating.

The morning after we arrived at the conference, I stepped away to host my fifth Spirit Session—a session of visualization and self-reflection to tap into inner peace and inner strength. The session was about authenticity. It was an interesting echo to sit in contemplation about authenticity after spending the evening remembering my creative impulses. For me, my authenticity is deeply connected to my creativity. If I’m not creating, I don’t feel like myself.

I took the opportunity to write a mantra for myself: I am built to create. I believe creativity is a life force. We all feel the flush of our humanity when we are creating. Wishing you many moments in which you feel the power of your life force through creativity and expression. Because we are all built to create.

—K.