Your first memory of Jesus Christ as a child? I grew up attending Church, so Jesus was always around and discussed. I can’t narrow a specific moment in my childhood, but I recall watching one of those dramas queued to “Total Eclipse of the Heart” with a girl playing a lost character and then Jesus saving her and crying at age 7 while watching this play out.
What it was like to grow up in your family? I grew up in a gospel-based home. I have an older brother and an older sister. Both of my parents served in the local church and God was just a part of our everyday life. God was just infused in a lot of our conversations, prayer was a constant rhythm, and my family would host small groups from the church we attended when I was younger.
What is your first experience or memory of when you accepted Jesus Christ as Personal Lord and Savior? I was 14 years-old and we had just left a service at Blue Ridge Community Church, after hearing a woman’s testimony. I just remember her authenticity and vulnerability in coming to accept Christ. She knew she was broken but fully believed God could handle it, that she was not too much for God to handle. I knew I needed to accept Christ as my Savior, and not to rely on my parents’ faith to save me. My Dad and I went out to eat after that service and I was so moved that when we sat down, I just started crying and said, “I need to be saved too!” My Dad was the one who helped me to understand this and to accept Jesus! So, I literally accepted Christ at a local restaurant over a plate of chicken tenders.
When you recognized you had mental illness? I think my entire life I knew there was something “wrong”, or maybe I just always felt like the one who felt things very deeply. I was always very sensitive as a child and easily moved. I can recall having a panic attack in the fourth grade, but not knowing what it was.
By the time I was in high school I was able to acknowledge it as Anxiety/Depression and was able to talk to my parents about it who were both so loving and understanding! They never once brushed me off, and they acknowledged my anxiety…but now I know it as OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).
What you do to conquer your mental illness? I believe God has given us so many tools to help us see Him, know Him, and love Him more deeply despite a mental illness. Being in constant communication with Him helps deeply, such as prayer and journaling. Also meditating on scripture! Some other tools He has equipped me with include a therapist I speak to weekly, and a psychiatrist who has helped me to find the right medicine to level out the chemical imbalance in my brain. I also find yoga, barre, and any form of exercise to also help! Plus, drinking plenty of water! In addition, I find a lot of comfort from reading books on the Christian life which helps to focus my gaze on Him.
What university did you attend and who influenced you the most? I attended Liberty University with a degree in Strategic Communication. I had some of the most remarkable professors who made the biggest impact on my life. There are two professors who come to mind who greatly impacted me, both were English Professors, Professor Nathaniel Valle (Below Left) and Dr. Karen Swallow-Prior (Below Right). They are just so intelligent and willing to learn regardless of their educational status. Both believed in me not just as a student, but as a person. They taught me a lot about God and what it truly means to live out our faith, and not just talk about it.
Click below to read about Professor Nathaniel Valle:
https://christandpopculture.com/author/nrvalle/
These were some of the most formative years I have had in my life so far. It was where I really started seeking help for my mental illness, and to find freedom in it too. To know that I am still loved my Christ regardless of my broken brain.
What led you to write WHAT WE’RE WORKING WITH? (Or the Trials and Tribulations of Making Sense of Your 20s)? I started writing in Summer of 2019 and then I put my last poem into the collection in June of 2021! I honestly did not set out to write a book, I really was just trying to express my emotions. I had just started going to counseling the Spring/Summer of 2019 and was just learning a lot about myself and God. My head would just overflow with thoughts, sentences, words, and so I would just write it on my notes app. and when I did that my thoughts then made sense, and I was able to process a lot. During my college years I also experienced a lot of grief/pain with endings of friendships/relationships.
Anyway, I then created a little Instagram page called “What We’re Working With” where I just posted some of the mini poems I had written. At that time, I didn’t really share that it was me behind it, because it felt so intimate. I wrote every day and posted often onto this page.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCuLBTqnIf_/?igshid=18r3zrdqpf2vd
By the fall of 2019 I went on a date with a boy (who is now my fiancé!) who I shared some of my poems with. He was so impressed and really encouraged me to keep writing and sharing my stories with this corner of the internet. He even gave me the idea to eventually publish these poems as a collection. I kept that thought in my back pocket, and just continued to write and post, write and post. Eventually I grew the confidence to just self-publish, really for the sake of just having something of my own!
What was the most emotional poem for you to write from What We’re Working With (Or the Trials and Tribulations of Making Sense of Your 20s) It is funny because a lot of these poems did come a place of deep sorrow, angst, pain, and tears. I have vivid memories of my tears clouding my vision as I typed them into my notes app. One in particular is “1 Kings” which I think kind of encompasses the entire season of writing Whenever I am having a really bad day mentally it usually gets bad at night where I just get extremely emotional and I started to find the people in my life would say, “maybe you need some rest, I think you are tired.” and they were right! It reminded me of how in 1 Kings Elijah is having a mental breakdown, so God literally puts Him to sleep! How practical. I wrote this during a night where I could not sleep because my thoughts were racing and I could not stop crying (also was not on the right medicine or seeing a counselor at that time) It was so freeing to write this, like I felt like I was here even though no one else was reading it when I first wrote it!
How do you perceive yourself as a poet? I do not describe myself as a poet. Mainly because there is NO way I am in the ranks of Dickinson, Oliver, Whitman, or Herbert for that matter! I think I need to refine my craft a little longer before I would ever consider myself as a poet. Now, a creative, sure! A thinker & feeler, yes!
https://www.emilydickinson.net/poems.jsp
https://www.georgeherbert.org.uk/
What poets have inspired you? There are many artists who have inspired me (not necessarily poets) I think of Rich Mullins, Bob Dylan, Walt Whitman, George Herbert, Leonard Cohen, and a lot of other dead poets.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Herbert
What do you want readers to gain by reading What We’re Working With (Or the Trials and Tribulations of Making Sense of Your 20s) I hope my readers gain a sense of introspection, to sit with themselves and look inward for a moment, and to not feel as alone
Natalie Bassie is 23-year-old who resides in Central, Virginia. She is passionate about mental health, the gospel, and writing.
Facebook Writer’s Page
https://www.facebook.com/Natalie-Bassie-Writer-107261738333560