Though Zoe Adams began to take an interest in writing around the seventh grade, it wasn’t until her freshman year at Grove City High School that she began to take writing seriously as a form of art and expression, after English teacher Sarah Watkins assigned a poetry project.
“I decided to focus on eating disorders because I had recently come out of recovery,” Adams says. “I was writing and I loved the assignment. It was just the placement of words, the explanations I had to do for them. I loved every bit about it.”
Adams turned in her work with a mix of pride and hesitation. After all, the piece was deeply vulnerable and revealing. But Watkins responded with praise and amazement.
“I started crying,” Adams says. “I thought, ‘Wow, I did not think my poetry had the power to do that.’”
From then on, Adams has been writing relentlessly. Watkins says she recognized Adams’ talent prior to the assignment, but Adams’ poetry far exceeded Watkins’ expectations.
“I knew Zoe was an amazing writer,” Watkins says. “I had read her literary analysis that she had done, … but I had never read poetry from her before. I was just shocked at how talented she was.”
Since then, Adams has blossomed as a writer. Now an incoming high school senior, Adams has received multiple honors, most recently from the regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Midwest competition in 2022. Her poem girl code earned a Gold Key award and her collection in place received a Silver Key award.
Adams pulls most of her inspiration for her poems from her own lived experiences.
“I found that the more emotionally charged I am, the more I tend to write,” she says. “I think most, if not all, the poetry has at least some link to me, whether it be faint or just completely plastered me.”
Her Gold Key-winning poem talks about the struggles that women commonly experience. It addresses fears regarding outside pressures, sexual assault and ominous male figures. After Adams won a Silver Key in the Scholastic competition during her sophomore year, Watkins says she was happy to see her student take home a Gold Key this year, a reflection of Adams’ dedication to her craft.
“Zoe is one of the most mature and responsible teenagers I have ever worked with. … She holds a very high standard for herself,” Watkins says. “Any assignment, any task, any project or activity that a teacher would give Zoe, she’s always going to put 100 percent of herself into it, no matter how small it is. She just dedicates herself to everything she does.”
Still, Adams says her growth as a writer and ability to recognize her own potential is due at least in part to Watkins’ support. And thanks to that support, Adams hopes to pursue a creative writing degree after graduating from high school.
“She was there during that pivotal moment,” Adams says. “Her comments on my work pushed me and made me open my eyes that I can write and do it well.”
Kate Anderson is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
