I think there might be people out there who think I’m a poet, and I think it’s terrifying. I haven’t been a poet since my middle school days of writing rhyming couplets about hating school and my early high school days of writing terrible prose with line breaks. In hindsight, I’m pretty sure the main reason I wrote so many poems in grade nine was because my teacher seemed to have no idea how to grade poems but very strong opinions about fiction, and I felt like I was terrible at writing fiction and wanted a shot at a decent grade. Man, high school was such a great time.

One of the things I’ve noticed lately, as I read bios written by my peers (and ask them to write bios, in some cases), is how afraid so many people are to project any sense of artistic legitimacy in their bios. Even if you’re insecure in real life, your bio is not the place for that.

You can write whatever the hell you want in your bio, and no one will side-eye you, unless you outright lie about your credentials or accomplishments. Bios are how you choose to present yourself, not just to the world, but also to your peers and colleagues. If you don’t even pretend to believe you belong in a space, no one is going to believe that you belong for you.