I’m Amanda D. Petty and I was born in 1982. I was born and
raised in Nevada. I had a drowning accident at 22 months old; because of that,
my life is in an electric wheelchair. I’ve got Spastic Cerebral Palsy on the
left side of my body. My speech is hard to understand and sometimes I can’t get
the words out.
God knew that I had impaired speech, and at the age of 18
words came into my mind, I wrote them down. At that time, I had some idea what
I’d write, but I had no idea what path I would take. About a month later, these
words, layouts, and forms were coming to me every day. I began to see a
pattern. I did my research with books and on the Internet. I came to find out
that I could become a poet. I wrote two or three poems a day. I was exceedingly
diffident showing my heart to others. I thought, “If I’m going to write poetry,
I want to know how to write properly.”
Between 2001 and 2005, I wrote about 4 or 5 poems a day. I
did not use punctuations at all. I thought it wasn’t necessary. Plus, I used
the same words over and over. One day, my dad and I talked, and he suggested
using punctuations and using different words that have the same meaning. So, I
did. I had to change the way I wrote. I started to find out that I love my
dad’s way. So, I used punctuation and used different vocabulary.
In 2006, months after my nephew was born, my sister asked
me to write a poem about his first spoon. It was a sliver spoon. I thought, ok.
It took me a few hours to do it. She read it, and I knew she liked it. She put
it in his baby book. From that moment, I knew I had found my true joy in life.
On November 30th, 2006, I asked a grade school teacher to
teach me. I wanted to learn English. She was fine, but I wanted more. I wanted
someone to push me to my limits and beyond.
~~~A Professor Morphed Me~~~
I knew a friend that taught English very well. She taught
my Sunday school classes and I loved her teachings, but I had no idea that she
was an English professor at Weber State University. I was scared and nervous
because I thought I wouldn’t understand, but if I was going to write, then I
needed her. On August 7th, 2011, I asked her to teach me. She kindly agreed. On
October 26th, 2011, she came to teach me. She was exactly what I needed. She
has taught me about the real meaning of ardor. She has completely changed my
life and I love her very much. I never knew I could be pushed so hard, mentally
and emotionally, until my teacher came and taught me about real, true, deep
hard work; I had no idea about the true passion I had.
~~~An Idea, JUST an Idea~~
On January 7th, 2012, I had
the idea to share my gift but I knew something was missing and I didn’t know
what. I wrote a few poems for my family and friends. During this time, I hadn’t
named my “thing” yet. On March 7th, 2012, I asked my instructor if she would
teach me some new styles for my “thing”. She agreed. She taught me, and I
picked it up fast. My ex boyfriend always calls me his “Pretty Petty”. (I
thought if I named something really important, then, he'd come back to me. He
didn't come back.) On March 9th, 2012, I named my “thing” to Pretty Petty Poetry. On March 18th,
2012, I decided to take a break from writing poetry for my family and friends
because I couldn’t handle the stress of both writings for other
people and what my teacher taught me.
On April 18th, 2012, my teacher gave me a job. I agreed to
do it. When I wrote for my relatives and acquaintances, it was all in fun and I
never thought I could make a business out of writing poetry. She told me that
she would pay me. I tried to refuse it but she told me, if I don’t take the
money, she wouldn’t give me any more jobs. That night, I wrote her
poem. The next day, she came to pick up her poem, and she was happy. She gave
me the money. When she handed me the green, I felt really good. She said that I
could make a real business. That comment made me think and morphed my entire
life. For a week, I thought about it: hard. I prayed about this decision, and a
very strong impression came over me. I just knew I made the right choice.
From April 19th to July 10th of 2012, I’d been improving
on Pretty Petty Poetry, trying to
think of everything that I can to make it better. During this time, I know He
has succored me through this. I believe and know being a poet is a gift from
Him.
~~~A Business Partner~~~
In March of 2015, I asked my friends on Facebook about if
I did a disabled issue of Pretty Petty Poetry, would they be offended?
Overwhelming replies came back at me. Especially a stranger, Eric Brown,
replied. I thought to myself, “Who is Eric Brown?” He answered my question, “A
disabled person’s biggest wish was to be treated like a regular person.” I
could tell that his reply was true, and I wanted to talk to him. I came to find
out that he is High Functioning Autistic. It felt natural to me, getting his
thoughts about poetry. We talked about my business. I had a very strong
impression that I should make him a business partner. I prayed about him; on
April 7th, 2015, I asked him to be a partner of Pretty Petty Poetry. He said
yes, so I changed the website, so he’d be a part of it.
~~~Putting a Team Together~~~
As I started this business, I needed help. I couldn’t do
it alone. Yes, Eric does help me tons, but we needed more people. For 8 or 9
months, I’ve been looking for a team.
I went to Basic High School in Henderson, Nevada in 1998
to 2000. I met a goofy guy named James W. Hill. We were in some classes
together, and we used to hang out after school.
In March of 2016, James created a group on Facebook
where all of Basic’s friends could reunite. Of course, I was in it. I was very
glad to talk with my old friends. Somehow, we were talking about my
business. I mention that I needed help. James saw my post, and he gladly
replied…
One day, out of the blue, I started to
talk with my friend Anna just to see how she was. We started talking
about things. I come to find out that I really like her.
In April, I was talking to Anna about something. I asked
if she wrote poetry, and she could. We were talking about Pretty Petty Poetry.
I told her to ask her parents about joining the team. She did…
~~~Working Together~~~
Eric and I always talked about the business. We discussed
Anna and James joining the team. On May 20th, 2016, Anna and James joined the
team. James would do the Military issue and Anna would do the Kids’ issue. Eric
suggested having Anna and James help us with the weekly poems, and I agreed.
~~~A New Partner~~~
James and I are close. He knew something was wrong with
me. I talked to him about Eric. He offered, willingly, to be a partner to me.
On December 27th, 2016, I had it with Eric. I told him to be a teammate only.
James, again, offered to be my partner. I took him up on his offer.
~~~Eric Quit~~~
On December 29th, 2016, Eric quit the business without any
reason. I was very hurt because I opened my life to him. After time
went by, he told me the reasons, and I understand why. He and I are friends,
still.
~~~Teammates~~~
After Eric quit, I told James that we needed some new
teammates. I told my Facebook groups that we were in need some
teammates. I got a few replies, but one stood out; Abdul Sami. I read a poem
that he sent me, and I showed James this. We really liked his style. On
December 30th, 2016, Abdul joined the team.
On January 16th, 2017, a guy came to me asking me
about Pretty Petty Poetry because
I posted a post on a Facebook Group. On January 19th, 2017, Andrei George
joined the team.
~~~Goodbye Anna~~~
Because of Anna’s schedule, she, sadly, quit Pretty Petty
Poetry. I’m not mad at her but, I’m sad because she was very good.
~~~Goodbye James~~~
During the year of 2018, James had been playing games.
What I mean is that he has been off and on of being a true partner to me and
the team. So, on September 10th, 2018, I had it. I made the hardest decision of
my career.
~~~Business
into an Organization~~~
I don't call, “Pretty Petty Poetry” a business anymore
because business is money. So, now I call this a non-profit, online, poetry
organization. All of the teammates are my poetry family, my goofy friends, and
I love them.
~~~Help Wanted~~~
I posted a help wanted on my Facebook groups. A gentleman
saw this, and they answer the call. January 28th, 2019, Stitch joined the team.
On May 27th, 2019, Glory Adeniran joined the team.
~~~A Spanish Break~~~
I talked to my team and Heavenly Father about talking a
break for Spanish. Since a young
teenager, I've known people who speak this beautiful language, and it draws me.
In June of 2019, I made a promise to myself that I'll learn Spanish. God agrees
with me to take a break from writing
poetry for other people to learn Spanish. My team disagree with this break
because they thought PPP was over. I
reinsured them that PPP is not over.
~~~God is In Control~~~
Form 2018 to 2020, I had no partner and I couldn't do it. In March of
2020, I've been thinking of my former partner, James W. Hill, and I don't know why either. I forgot about
the thought. In April, it happened again. So, on May 12, 2020, I asked James to
be my partner.
I swear Heavenly Father is in control. I'm not happy about what
James did. But, I'm learning to forgive him. If I didn't have Christ in my
life, I know I wouldn't forgive James.
~~~A Spanish Teacher~~~
In LDS Religion, we have a
program called Ministery. Everyone is group with someone to watched over, be a
friend to. Well, I have two Sisters that I'm assigned to. One of my Sisters
married a middle school Spanish teacher, and I didn't know. My Sister and I
talked over text because of my speech. I kindly mention that I'm studying
Spanish. She mentioned about her husband, Brother Lamb, is a Spanish teacher. I
was happy to hear about this.
I need to go back. Two months
after I started studying Spanish, I knew I needed a teacher. I prayed for daily
for a Spanish teacher who can teach me.
On May 13, 2020, my prayer was
answered. Brother Lamb came into my life. I know Brother Lamb is heaven sent.
Heavenly Father knows how bad I want this. I had a great teacher before Brother
Lamb. He was YouTube. I looked up stuff on YouTube to help me. Now, I don't
need YouTube. It has just the
basics, and I was getting tired of it. I needed more.