Young Author Brings Black Voices into the Spotlight

Samira Barnett

Trinity Davis, an aspiring author, published her first book, JONA, at the age of 17. Davis’s goal in writing is to highlight African-American struggles, providing readers with a different perspective on what is typically taught in schools.

Davis began writing stories as a child, using scratch paper and colored pencils. Davis didn’t take writing seriously until her freshman year of high school when she produced the book JONA and was able to self-publish her senior year.

“Me making the decision to tap into [writing] that in high school really opened a lot of doors for me,” said Davis. “It made me realize I wasn’t too young to go into something I was passionate about.”

Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” inspired Davis. She decided to create a different perspective after realizing how many depictions of African-American slavery are the same across different works of literature. 

“I felt like freedom was a lot more in depth, for me I wanted to talk about freedom in a new way,” said Davis. 

Starting a book as a student required a lot of time management. It was difficult to strike a balance between passion and academic responsibilities. This journey required more sacrifice than a typical high school student would endure.

“I would go to the library during lunch and write my book most of the days,” said Davis.

Her transition into adulthood as an 18-year-old freshman at Texas A&M University has brought many challenges to her writing journey. As an author, she is held to the same standard as many other adult authors.

“When I first got to campus, I took a break to just get acclimated with campus and knew how to transition from high school to a college level experience,” said Davis. “Having the opportunity to tap back into being an author was something I really wanted to go back to.”

Challenges from her transition also motivated her to set higher goals and consider what her future might hold, whether it is working with a large publishing company or remaining self-published.

 “I started writing my second book over winter break,” said Davis. “I definitely think I will have it published before my senior year of university. I’m pretty much halfway done.

“I think learning so much from writing the first time, I was able to speed up the process entirely because I know what it looks like to have a writing schedule,” Davis continued. 

Being an author at such a young age has allowed her to develop as a person independently, enhancing her character and mindset. 

“I’ve definitely become more confident in what I can accomplish,” said Davis. “No matter where you are in life, if you have this goal you can always take that first step.

“With that mindset I have been able to do a lot for myself and my community through having that perspective,” Davis continued. 

Any goal requires time and dedication to achieve, all that is required is a little motivation. 

“When we get a good idea, we can be really excited at first, but after a while the motivation is gone from initial excitement and life can get crazy,” said Davis. “You have to make the decision to be disciplined and have the endurance to see the idea through.”