Writer. A noun. A person who writes a text. A person who communicates ideas to share with others. A writer can create different works including but not limited to books, magazines, screenplays, short stories, poems, and more. Writers use their words to convey a message that can not only inspire others but evoke change in an audience they are writing for.
Screenwriter. A noun. A person who practices the art of writing specifically for the screen. A screenwriter may write screenplays for many mediums including television, film, and video games. The screenwriter is visualizing a message they have for its viewers and must write for that purpose.
Sally Camara. A noun. A 21-year old screenwriting/playwriting major college student. A profound creative. A remarkable leader. A person worth knowing.
In addition to this, Sally is also a tutor, residential assistance on campus, and holds the role of secretary for her school’s club, the Organization for the African Peoples in the Americas (O.A.P.I.A). Sally is writing scripts for both movies and television alike and aspires to create and produce them. She is a member of the Pitch program in New York City where she learns essential skills for her career. Sally wants her work to highlight stories of black individuals. She wants to emphasize the beauty of people of color through stories that show a unique and positive narrative.
“There are not a lot of black movies of regular realities in the media now. Everyone is human and everyone’s story needs to be heard. And I want to write these stories.”
Sally receives influence from her environment growing up, which encourages her to choose writing as her art. She was born in Brooklyn, New York where she found her love for reading and writing through classes in school and trips to the library with her family. When her family moved from Brooklyn to Westchester, NY she experienced less motivation to continue writing due to new life adjustments including moving from a predominantly black high school to a predominantly white high school.
Though this time period was challenging for her, Sally didn’t let this minor setback stop her from working to her success. During her high school years, she received motivation to resume writing from many of her teachers including an English teacher during her freshman year. Later in her high school years, she became involved in her school newspaper. Now she is in college studying creative writing, minoring in psychology and global black studies, all furthering her writing experiences.
Sally knows that she is going to achieve success in her future. To her, success is not based on how much money you have or your accomplishments but more on being a better version of yourself. She says, “You have to work to your highest capability. You compete with yourself and work to be better than you were yesterday.” Sally is using her networking skills and confidence to get to the success she wants to see in her life.
She says, “You need to believe that you can do this or no one else will.”
Though Sally is working on success in her life, she knows that for communities of color there are still things to be done to create success in theirs. “There is some institutional racism and even anti-blackness happening toward my community.” While these things are negative, she knows there is still hope for her people to get better through education, strengthening relationships between members of her community, and consistent action against unjust behavior.
She says, “We are getting better with this [strengthening relationships] amongst ourselves. We must continue to unite and inform one another in the communities of color. Revolutionize against injustice, sign those petitions evoking change, become active in efforts toward the fight for liberation. It’s for us, so it’s up to us.”
In addition to assisting her community, Sally hopes to start her own production company and continue writing content that she will use to leave a strong legacy throughout her life. “I want to leave a legacy of having positively impacted Black folk all around the world with the films I plan to write.”
Comments