Shakira Cross

Hi, beloveds! I am Shakira Cross. I am a native of Columbia, MO, and a graduate of the University of Missouri - Columbia, where I received my Bachelor of Science in Education with an emphasis in Secondary Language Arts Education. I am a 9th-grade ELA teacher at Central High School in Kansas City, MO, and I am proud to serve in the Kansas City area.

To say the least, writing saved me. To say the most, I’ve always turned to writing to soothe the pain I felt after my mother passed away at the tender age of ten. It was lyrical therapy before my adult self realized interpersonal therapy is another form of healing. After my mother died, it felt like tragedy after tragedy, change after change, but writing and my love for the world of academia sustained me. It was unwavering.

As I embark on my journey as a teacher, an educator, and an advocate for my students, I want whoever wanders and finds my site to know that I was them. I was once the student no one had to worry about. I was once a student that caught attitudes fast (and still does, but the Lord is kind). I was once the student who had to grow up more quickly than I would have liked. I was once the student who had potential. I was once the student everyone thought would fail.

I see myself in them.

And I hope you see me in the stories that I share.

Above all else, I am a storyteller at heart and will forever tell my students they are, too. I guess it’s a matter of this: who’s gonna give you the pen, the pencil, the paper, or the mic.

I gladly will.