04/13/2023
From Naima: My name is Naima Vivian. I’m 28 years old soon to be 29 and I was born and raised in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. I’m a Smoking Mic award winning poet. I have an eight year old daughter who is my heart outside of my chest. I grew up with my mom and my two older brothers. I’ve been on my own since the age of 15 and a lot has happened since. The one thing that has always been a constant in my life is writing. I have been writing poetry, stories, and songs since I can remember. I feel like I’ve lived several lives but in them all I was a writer. I grew up with really low self-esteem and a toxic view on the world. I had no idea how negative and off-putting I was until I decided to change.
I would look for the bad in every situation and constantly put people down to make myself feel better. I have come so far from the insecure girl I used to be. They say it’s not until you lose everything that you realize what really matters. It wasn’t until I moved to New Mexico for three years and married my ex husband that I actually started to change my perception on life. I submitted to God and decided to start loving myself slowly but surely. Learning to love myself made me realize how much there is a lack of self love around the world.
I believe I went through everything that I went through so I can help other people get through it too. My purpose in life is to help people love themselves so it’s easier to love the people around them. This is my first book and I’m extremely proud of it. I managed to turn my pain into art that helped me to get through my darkest storms. I pray it can do the same for any person who reads my book. There will definitely be more to come. I’m just getting started.
Her book “Surviving Love” is set to release June 25th, 2023.