Rasheed Goldring is a junior international business major born and raised in the DMV. Within his short university career, he has accomplished something that many ambitious writers aspire to do their whole life—publish a book. Created when he was just 19 years old, Goldring’s book entitled “19 Years In The Universe” is a collection of 44 original poems created to spread awareness, positivity and invoke thought. Hercampus-Howard University had the opportunity to obtain valuable insight into the mind of this young author.
1. What is your book about?
My book is a documentation of the first nineteen years of my life in a way, however much of the book is in no way a direct reflection of specific experiences. It is more so the philosophical and poetic expression of everything I have read, heard about or witnessed firsthand, but is presented in a way that is meant to relate to everyone no matter your race or creed. It is about life in all its shades, degrees, and complexities, modern American life, that youth all over this country experience consciously or subconsciously.
2. What sparked this idea?
I was going into my sophomore year at Howard University, and the feelings of gratitude in my heart were at an all time high. I was in college, I was moving into my own apartment, my grades were good, and my relationship with God was one of give and receive, very special. So before I moved into my apartment I gave my self the goal of creating something I could give the world that was real and unedited, and that showed my appreciation for everyone and everything. I dwelled on this thought for sometime, not knowing the specifics of the route I was to take. Then one day, I was blessed with a farfetched, yet amazingly inspirational thought, to write and publish a book at the age of 19, and to never look back. Admittedly, I was skeptical of this risk and the dedication needed to pull it off, but I have been a writer my entire life, and this thought was a rush, and it never left my mind, so I decided to act.
3. How difficult was it to get your book published?
The level of difficulty I encountered while attempting to publish my book was surprisingly low. I am adamant about the value of listening and applying advice from my elders, so after speaking with a expert at writing books and the process of publishing, who happened to be the mother of one of my friends, I was sure I had enough insight to make the right decisions regarding my own process. Most of my time was committed to completing my manuscript, without one you can’t ever have a book. Once that was complete, I then began to look on the Internet for a reputable publishing company that would have all the benefits of a traditional publisher, but the efficiency and speed of an online publisher. This took patience and diligence, but I would not say that it was difficult. The last step after finding a suitable publishing company that met all my preferences was to save money for this investment in myself. This may have been the most difficult part of publishing, the initial costs, but if you can dream it, you can achieve it, and I achieved my financial goal that was set, the rest is history.
4. How did you first get involved with writing?
At about fourth grade, I was enrolled into a summer writing camp when I was still living in Prince Georges County, MD. It was only about five of us in this group, because it was private, and held at the home of an elderly woman not too far away from where I lived. During a particular week in this writing course, we were all instructed to begin writing our own short story, about what ever came to our minds, and to make it very detailed and creative. At the end of this task, I had completed a sixteen-page short story that was based on the characters of Sonic the Hedgehog, a game I will admit I played a lot back in those days. I believe this was the beginning of me being able to channel my creativity and imagination, into something concrete and very tangible.
5. What do you like to do in your free time?
I have been an avid reader my entire life, from elementary school to the present, this is something that will continue to take up my free time for the rest of my life, knowledge is contained in books, this is why I have never been a huge fan of TV, besides watching soccer matches now, and Dragon Ball Z when I was a child. I am also very conscious of staying healthy, so I will play in pick up soccer games sometimes, and I do kundalini yoga when I can, because contrary to popular belief, yoga is beneficial to all people not only women. Lastly, I plan, a lot, I am always thinking about the future so I am always planning for my life at least four steps ahead of where I currently am, so I love networking because it helps with this process of planning that I am always involved in.
6. Do you have any advice for people who would like to get their work published?
My best advice is to go for it, and to believe in your God given ability to accomplish anything you focus on and desire enough. Secondly, I would like to say that you may not always know the exact steps it will take to accomplish what you want to do, but take that first step, and I guarantee you the next two steps will show themselves to you, have faith. And always do a comparative analysis of different ways to publish yourself, the way I went about it may not cater to your unique preferences, so always look at your end goal at different angles.
7. How does it feel to be young and know that you have already accomplished so much?
Well in my eyes, I haven’t accomplished nearly as much as I aspire and work hard to. I feel blessed to be in the position I am at right now, don’t get me wrong, but I put so much pressure on myself to accomplish so much at a young age, that to me this is just the first building block, and I plan to build a wall. I never feel I have to prove myself to anyone, but proving myself to me will be a long and demanding battle. I pray every night though, so I am more grateful than anything.
8. Where do you see yourself in the next ten years?
I like to not predict things in my life; I plan on just being prepared and seeing what the unexpected brings into my life. However one thing has always been a fact in my eyes, that my future will be positive, dynamic, successful, and I would have achieved personal excellence. Also, I plan on being involved in Africa, in many progressive ways, all my bets are on Africa, and I encourage you to join me,
9.What would you do with your life, if you knew you had nine lives?
With each successive life, I would make sure I came out greater at the end of each, than I was at the last. I would learn to correct my mistakes and benefit from that wisdom, I would have one core project that I would work on and see what the end result would be after nine lifetimes, that is a long time for progress.
10. Any last words?
Yes, I want to say that no matter who you are and what you are, you should always treat others as you wish to be treated, and to spread the positivity that is love for humanity. Have faith in something, always believe in something for the greater good, the days for selfish people are over in my eyes, and it will continue to get exposed day after day. You create your own reality. Peace and happiness.