Everyone finds their own outlet to express their thoughts and feelings, and for junior Sarah Montes, this happens to be through spoken word poetry. Poetry allows Montes to let go of every emotion that she has kept inside. It is an open space that allows her to think freely and creatively with no judgement. Since Montes was a freshman, she has written and performed for the Niles West poetry slam team “A Tribe Called West.”

“It’s given me a safe space to say what I need to say. Poetry isn’t for the rest of the world all the time. It’s for you. To make you happy, or to get all your baggage or sadness or happiness out. It’s not always about bettering the world. You’re free to be human, which is all I could ask for,” Montes said. “I like spoken word because it’s a way to express yourself. You’re free of all the labels and nonsense, and you can speak your truth, or whatever your heart desires… you can do anything with poetry.”

One of Montes’s close friends and poetry teammates is Charlotte Namakula. Namakula says she loves the unique style and upbeat attitude Montes brings to the team.

“She is such a sweetie. She is surprising with her love. She will literally jump out and kiss you on the cheek when she sees you. Her openness with platonic affection and loyalty and sweetness is absolutely refreshing,” Namakula said. “Her hair is one of the very cool things about her. It’s colorful and it’s different, and she honestly gives me hair envy. She is honest, and her style is an adorable mixture of punk and goth.”

Montes’s good friend Francis Matias also appreciates her friendliness and affection.

“My favorite thing that Sarah does is run up to me in the hallway and hug me like we haven’t seen each other in years. It makes me feel special. Sarah is very passionate about everything she does. Whether that’s singing or writing and performing poetry, she always wants to do her best and loves it,” Matias said.

Creating poetry has really helped Montes prosper and become a better person. She is also able to listen to other people’s work and gain awareness of the situations of people around her.

“Writing has taught me lots of things, like patience and awareness,” Montes said. “I’ve learned that things take time. I always used writing as a way to get all my feelings out, whether they were good or bad. And being in a safe space that allowed me to change things and work with things has helped a lot. We treat things with care. Our traumas, our sadness or hurt, and past suffering. We are free to be, and I appreciate every moment I have to speak.”