A former staff writer at the San Francisco Chronicle, Kelly Regier is an Emmy-award winning journalist who now works as a freelance writer. She is also a stay-at-home mother to two daughters, ages 3 and 5. Thanks to a generous grant from Oprah’s Angel Network, Kelly mentored a group of teenage mothers at Mary’s Shelter in Santa Ana. Here’s her story.

Baby Talk

By Kelly St. John Regier

Some things are just inevitable. New mothers want to talk about their babies. So it was this spring, with our creative writing workshop at Mary’s Academy in Santa Ana – a program for pregnant and parenting teen girls. They were most inspired to write about, and for, their own children.

One week, we brainstormed about babies, filling a white board with words like “innocent,” “angel,” and “love” that they used to write poems. In another class, students wrote letters for their children to read when they are older, cataloging details of their pregnancies or childhood milestones that may be forgotten later on.

Parenthood crept into other assignments as well, even when unexpected. One student assigned to write about Fear described how scared she was to give birth in the coming weeks. Another, asked to write on the theme of Regret, voiced sadness that she had used drugs while she was pregnant.

Some lessons were less successful than others. Most of the students were intimidated when I asked them to write rhyming poems. But the day we made up metaphors and similes to describe our anger, the girls burst forth with creative energy. “Anger is like an orange low rider,” they wrote. “Anger is black. It’s like a monster truck… a big white shark… a storm that rushes through like bees in a swarm.”

For me, teaching the workshop was a fun break from the daily grind of caring for two preschoolers at home, and the perfect excuse to practice more creative writing myself. I wrote in a spiraled-ring journal just like my students and even read aloud a few of the things I wrote. It was fun to share my experiences about motherhood and give encouragement to these new, young mothers who are determined to make a better life for themselves and their children.

At the end of the eight-week workshop, their teacher said, “I loved seeing what my students were able to accomplish with different writing genres. Most of the writing we do in here is essay writing, and it’s very nice to incorporate creative writing.” As for the students? As one put it, “My favorite part was writing about my daughter, and knowing that, one day, she will read what I wrote about her.”

Carey Davis, the girls’ English teacher at Mary’s Academy said, “With no parental support and a high rate of school transience, these students often function far below grade level in all subjects. Writing is an especially challenging area. This Creative Writing Workshop has allowed my students to experience success in an area they often find challenging. Thank you Create Now.”

The girls made Kelly a beautiful thank you card. Here’s what they have to say:

“Kelly really touched our heart with everything she did. Nothing could have made it better.” – "Angela," 16 years old

“Writing about my daughter was my favorite assignment, and knowing that one day she will read what I wrote about her.” – "Heather," age 18

“My favorite one was when we wrote poems about anger,” – "Regina," age 16

Read the girls' poetry here....

Special thanks to Oprah's Angel Network for their generous support of our Write Now literacy program.