On December 6th, Bowie students and faculty gathered in the library to share a love of poetry.

The school wide Poetry Out Loud competition gave students, like senior Saylor Hinthorn, the chance to express themselves through spoken poetry.

“I love discovering poets and poetry that I can relate with.” Hinthorn said.

Hinthorn and some of the other students also used the competition to challenge themselves.

“I [thought] it would be good for me to try new things and get out of my comfort zone.” senior Isabella De La Garza said.

The event included memorizing a poem and reciting it in front of judges.

“I was most nervous about forgetting my lines while reciting the poem but I knew I practiced this more than enough times and I would probably be alright.” De La Garza said.  

Hinthorn also experienced nerves before performing her poem.

“I took deep breaths and tried to look at my parents for comfort.” Hinthorn said. “Once I was up in front of the judges, most of my nerves went away.”

De La Garza had a different approach to beating the nerves.

“They way I dealt with my nerves was I would do the Superman pose before my presentation and I think that helps me out a lot.” De La Garza said.

Although the participants were nervous before their recitation, they were also excited.

“I wanted to see how many other poetry lovers are hidden within the school, and see what poems that they can connect too.” Hinthron said.

The competition also helped the participants learn about themselves through the experience.  

“You never know if you are good or bad at it if you don’t get up and try.” De La Garza said. “And I watched myself grow into someone who has confidence in doing what they love, which is poetry.”