Parnika Sharma

Parnika Sharma is a high school graduate who aspires to be a refined poet, besides being desirous of furthering her cause of pursuing higher education. She is fond of writing poems to express her voice of pleasure and the pains of being human. She began her poetic career at a young age, adopting ways of embracing and accepting what she had felt for so long about herself and her surroundings. She perceives a sense of belonging when she finds her home in the shelter of words.

Poetry sets her free from every binding emotion that holds her back—thus, it is a form of personal expression as well as her strength. It gives her the power to be in control of her emotions and to inspire an impact through her words. She writes poems about themes of self-love, courage, and all the human emotions and experiences worth writing about. She participated in poetry competitions during her schooling years, known for her heartfelt poetry and always a subject of appreciation by her peers and teachers. She cherishes the process of writing and expressing her emotions, as she firmly believes that if we let ourselves feel without limitation, we are truly alive—otherwise, emotions can encage us in ways we cannot escape from.

Q:You write about  self-love, courage, and all the human emotions. Do you think literature helps writers and readers navigate through ups and downs of life? 

I absolutely agree that literature can be a great help for all the writers and readers who desire to navigate through ups and downs of life with strength, resilience and hope. For writers especially working on their stories and building various characters and their traits for the novel , teaches them something. These characters and their personality traits become a part of their personality. If a character is courageous and adapts to a difficult situation in the book ,the writer’s mind begins to subconsciously learn from that and act in that way. The writer feels inspired and desires to be like that character and that is psyche of human mind which shapes writers as best versions of themselves who can handle everything life throws at them. The readers when they read about a character in a book ,they lose themselves in that story. Reading becomes a escape from reality ,a place which feels like home. In many cases ,the character inspires them to be better individuals. I read the famous  “Shatter Me ” series by Tahereh Mafi  and the character of Juliette Ferrars inspired me to realize my inner fearless self and shaped me as a strong individual day by day. So literature is a powerful tool ,an  imaginary world of characters and stories which impacts people and bring a change all over the world. It is a tale of all those voices left unheard in real life who find their self and their true home and voice through literature.

Q: What kind of impact do you wish to make with your writing?

Through my writings, I wish to inspire people to teach them the art of embracing their emotions freely and openly without labelling their emotions as too much or too less. I desire that my words make people understand and identify their true strength and confidence that emanates from within and not from external validation of society. My poems convey the true meaning of being a warrior  to feel freely and expressing emotions truly and then letting them go if they hold you back and then regardless of how you feel ,keep on going until you reach your destination.

Q: What made you start writing poetry?

I was feeling overwhelmed at an event, sitting alone and I had all these emotions which I wanted to write about. I had just changed my school, where I felt  happier and profoundly confident than my previous school. Transition  from state of  shyness, loneliness and less confidence in my previous school to the state of enthusiasm in my new school whereby  I found a second family,  The feeling of belongingness existed now. I wished to write about my countless struggles throughout different phases of journey and the words just flowed from my brain to my hand which  finally made appearance on paper and that’s how I wrote my first poem.