Slam Poet Garcia-Medina inspires student to perform personal poetry

International spoken word artist and award winning poet Gabriela Garcia Medina performed at Elon University last night as a part of Student Union Board’s SUBStage programming, but it was student Chelsea Yarborough’s impromptu performance that garnered the most applause from the audience.

Garcia Medina has performed at numerous colleges, festivals and conferences all over the world, and she ended her performance at Elon just as she does any other. At the end of an invigorating set, she welcomed fellow poets to the stage to share their work. Though audience members nudged their friends, only sophomore Chelsea Yarborough was brave enough to take to the microphone.

Despite nerves, it was Garcia Medina’s presence that ultimately inspired Yarborough.

“I liked her attitude a lot,” Yarborough said. “Kind of a no nonsense attitude, which is exactly what I like to portray in my own poetry.”

But this was not the first time that Yarborough has shared her poetry. She became serious about poetry during her freshman year in high school, and she has actually participated in a few slam poetry competitions.

This experience enabled Yarborough to give a poised and masterful delivery of her poems.

First, she performed “It’s Just that Kind of Love,” a poem about the euphoric feeling that lovers have when their relationship is so good that it overcomes and overpowers whatever else might happen.

Then, she performed “True Love,” a poem about a love so pure that it is reflective of God’s love.

Yarborough’s performance impressed the audience, including a few friends who were unaware of her poetic side.

“I was amazed not only by her poetry and how well it was written, but also by the passion with which she delivered it,” Jenna Thrash said.

Click the video to see student Chelsea Yarborough perform “It’s Just That Kind of Love” and “True Love.”

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