This Month’s #WCW is Casilya Smith of Sil the Writer & Sil Digital. Casilya is a mother, teacher, photographer, blogger, and PUBLISHED AUTHOR. Casilya is one of the strongest and supportive women I know. She may be going through things in her life but you can guarantee she will be the one who will uplift you before herself.
I remember at my most recent event I shared my story of disappointment with how graduate school has gone. Casilya was the first to tell me that no matter what not to be disappointed, but to be encouraged and to keep pushing. In so many words, she reminded me to never give up. But, herĀ testimony is even greater! Everything she has done and plans to do will make her a force to be reckoned with. She is genuine, passionate, talented, inspirational and encouraging. She is that friend who everyone needs in their lives. She inspires me to be great. She inspires everyone around her to be great.Ā I can’t express that enough.
I wanted to feature Casilya this month because I am so proud of how much she has accomplished. Her book “TPTDE: The Little Pink Book: The Poem That Doesn’t End,” is available on Amazon. Her latest book “Dear King,” will be released on June 19th.Ā She will also have a Book Release event on June 29th and you can reserve your spot here, but spots are limited! It is an honor to have her as a friend, but also to see the legacy she is building, it is phenomenal. This Queen deserves all the recognition, and that again is why she is my WCW for June.
For those who may not know, could you tell them about who you are and what you do?
Could you tell us about Sil the Writer and Sil Digital?Ā
At the start of my day and at the end of my day, I like to label myself as a creator! SILTheWriter is my main brand that houses all of my poetic and literary work. I blog, write relationship and life quotes, and I have published two books: TPTDE: The Little Pink Book and Dear King. My first book stands for āThe Poem That Doesnāt Endā and it speaks to the scorned woman, the broken-hearted, the empowered woman, the lost souls, the fatherless daughters, and effortlessly leaves you healed beautifully with all of your pieces. āDear Kingā will be my first childrenās book that is aimed to empower our black sonās and daughters.
SIL Digital is my photography and creative design service. Iāve done everything from styling and directing fashion, childrenās, senior, and couples shoots. I have an eye for finding beauty in unconventional things and places and I think that is what has aided in my success.
Where did the ideas of Sil the Writer and Sil Digital come from?
In my opinion, we all have situations in life we encounter that we can share that empower and encourage the next. Did you face any adversities growing up, or even in your adulthood? If so, tell us about them and how you overcame them?
Adversity? Oh yeah! My entire life has been nothing but lessons and tests. There are still some tests that I have gone through where the lessons are still to be determined. Now that Iām aware of what depression is, I would say that I grew up pretty depressed. No one would have known because I learned from toxic cycles, to smile even when I wasnāt happy. Ā My parents divorced when I was in elementary because my dad struggled with infidelity. I used to think my mom was my hero because she was so strong to leave with two daughters, but that all got jaded when she chose to stay with my ex-step-dad. I realize now that some people rather be in pain than to be alone. Ā He was very verbally abusive and made it known that he loved my mom but never wanted kids. We were forced to hide what we went through. I think that is when I first picked up my trait of staying busy because I never wanted to be home when he was there. From middle school to high school, I was in: band, choir, cheer, dance, the school newspaper, AVID, and countless other organizations. As busy as I kept myself, I still wasnāt happy. I was feeling the void of not having a real relationship with my dad. I canāt remember hearing at all during my childhood anything besides āyouāre pretty for a dark-skinned girlā. I was always friend-zonedānever light enough, petite enough, always living in my sisterās shadows because was all those things. I felt alone and unwanted up until I decide to leave the cycle and go to college out of state. At FAMU, all black was beautiful! It was like a melting pot of melanin! It took years, but my confidence slowly started to form.
It was all good until my college best friend was murdered tragically. During that darkness, I went back to a toxic relationship and in the midst conceived my son. I was fighting for my life spiritually and knew that only God could clean me up and allow me to persevere.
Since college, I have had more obstacles such as: being almost killed with my son in a car accident where we were rear-ended by a bus, losing my maternal grandfather to cancer, and recently losing my mom unexpectedly a few months ago. Iām okay though! Because since giving it all to God, I have obtained a certain peace of mind. I no longer question āwhy meā, when another test comes I just cry out āLord help meā. And he does every time. Is life sometimes ugly? Yes, but the parts that make it beautiful are worth it!
What are your short and long term goals for yourself and your brand?
Short term I want to just keep dedicating myself and my time to creating! I will be hosting my book signing event for āDear Kingā on June 29, 2019! I will also start working on Volume 2 of TPTDE: The Little Pink Book!
Long term goals are to simply keep inspiring and building a legacy! I eventually will retire from teaching in a few years and run my own media company! Just stay tuned, but my testimony is going to be so beautiful!
Being an entrepreneur has its ups and downs, do you prefer a ā9-5,ā Entrepreneur life, or Both?Ā
What have you accomplished so far that you are most proud of? What do you think you can work on more?
What is next for Sil the Writer and Sil Digital? Where do you envision being within the next few years?
What are some tips or advice you could share with anyone who may want to follow the same career path as you?
How can fellow readers reach you?
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Website:Ā www.silthewriter.com
- E-mail Address:Ā silthewriter@gmail.com
- Phone Number:Ā (850) 345-0933
- Facebook: Casilya Smith
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Instagram: @silthewriterĀ @silempowered
- Twitter: @silthewriter
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