Sherry Hicks graduated from Wichita State University with honors in Social Work, and is a member of Golden Key Honor Society. She is also entered into the 2001 edition of Who’s Who among Colleges and Universities. Attending Wichita State University a second time with graduate studies, she took courses in Cultural Anthropology and Criminal Investigations. Furthering her graduate studies, she attended Grand Canyon University where she studied Professional Counseling. Sherry worked with several agencies as well as the state with advocating for children and families.
Fancy: How would you describe your swagher? What makes Sherry, Sherry?
Sherry: What makes me, me? My experiences in life. My perception of life, now this is how I experience the things that I have experienced. How I think and feel about those situations, is what makes me unique. My beliefs, God has always had a hand in my life, because without Him, some of the experiences I have endured, I would not have made it through. I am a very creative person. I love creating and envisioning positive things. Intelligence, I love helping people with increasing their awareness in life. My sense of the world around me, I am in tune with my surroundings. It is very important that we stay tuned with nature. Nature keeps me in tune with my spirituality and my spirituality in tune with God. I love communicating with people and love speaking to people about life. My personality and character is very important to me. Lastly, I have a great personality and goals in life. Also, I love just being myself. I am a true testament to what living a passionate and satisfying life is all about.
Fancy: What sparked your interest in social work?
Sherry: I became a social worker, because as a social worker I am the heart and soul of the helping profession. I am uniquely trained to help my clients with the awareness of how to make the changes they need with themselves and/ or situations.
Fancy: So tell us a little about your poetry book, “A Shadowed Past†and what inspired it.
Sherry: I wrote my book after I had to go to counseling, which was a part of the curriculum in my masters program. You know counselors need counseling, so to speak. I have been writing poetry as an outlet with personal issues I had throughout my life. I read my counselor one of my poems, and she said I should publish them. That was the beginning of the end. I published not all of them, but some of them in this book and explained why I wrote the poems. My inspiration for writing this book was for people that had similar experiences like mine to know that there is power in forgiveness.
Fancy: Would you say you found solace in writing?
Sherry: Oh my, yes! The comfort in saying what you want to say without being judged for saying it, the power to be heard without being tuned out, and lastly, the power to go down in your soul and say all of the things that I was denied the right to speak about, for fear of being subjected to being casted out all are therapeutic. Writing gives you freedom.
Fancy: About how long was the span of time that it took you to write this collection?
Sherry: It took me a month to put all of the poems together that I wanted to share in this book. As for writing out the explanation for each poem, it took me another month to explain them. The book was put together in two months. It was easy to write, because when you have really been through something shadows of the past follows you. This is why I titled it A Shadowed Past. The one thing about shadows is shadows can never walk in the front of you. They can only linger behind. In order to get rid of the past and have the shadows at a distant, one must talk about it. The more you talk the less it has a hold on you.
Fancy: I noticed that you mentioned people pleasing. Is that something you suffered with personally, and how did you overcome that?
Sherry: Yes. When you are considered an outcast, even in your family, you tend to try and please those people, because they are living in denial for what has happened to you. So in order to feel like I belonged, I tried to please them to remove the shame and guilt that I carried in my heart. This became a learned practice, and I carried it into the world and lost myself trying to be something for someone else that I did not like.
Fancy: Do you ever perform spoken word?
Sherry: I do perform at events, such as when I do book signings; I get the opportunity to speak aloud about my life experiences. I am looking and trying to create more speaking events. My goal is to become a motivational speaker in life.
Fancy: Do you have any upcoming projects or events that you care to share?
Sherry: I have other publications available: “What I Had to Overcome To Be Who I Am†Vol. 1 and Vol. 2; “The Bitter Curse and The Ties That Bindâ€; “My Diary of Wordsâ€; and “The Message! Wake up and Do Not Be Deceivedâ€.
Connect with Sherry below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGnHJPEn36s
