Monster: A Poem by Jamie Hocking

As social media has become more ingrained in our everyday lives, our perception of ourselves and others has changed dramatically. We have spent so long looking at carefully curated versions of people that we have forgotten that there is more to the person than their persona. We've unfairly compared ourselves at our worst to these online personas at their best. 



We've seen people rejected and ridiculed on a daily basis for being less than perfect. As a result many of us have tried to rid ourselves of the parts of us that we are afraid to share with the world. The ironic part is that our fear of being rejected by others leads us to reject core aspects of ourselves. 



Monster was written after the author's late life diagnosis of autism and ADHD. These diagnoses helped the author rediscover who she is underneath all the masks and personas she had worn for so many years. 



Monster is for everyone struggling to love and accept themselves just as they are - without the self-loathing, judgement and shame that comes along with being different. Monster guides the reader through the author's journey from self-loathing to full acceptance of every iteration of self - monsters and all.