“What It Feels Like to Be Me in This City”
On May 7, 2025, Brighton High School sophomore, Unique Cooper, stood in front of hundreds at Spark SF Public Schools’ 10-year anniversary celebration, “Our City, Our Schools,” and performed “What It Feels Like to Be Me in This City” a poem that left a lasting impression. With raw honesty and rhythm, her words painted a picture of growing up in San Francisco — the chaos, the joy, the community, and the courage it takes to express oneself.
Unique’s poem was developed through a workshop series hosted by 826 Valencia, a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting under-resourced SFUSD students with their writing and storytelling skills. The program offers young writers not only space to write but also mentorship, encouragement, and tools to elevate their voice.
We sat down with Unique just days after the event to talk about her process, what inspires her, and how it felt to share her truth on such a big stage.
Q: Can you introduce yourself to our readers?
A: Hi, my name is Unique Cooper. I’m a sophomore at Brighton. I enjoyed my time at 826 while I was writing and doing my poetry.
Q: What kinds of writing did you explore in the 826 Valencia program?
A: Most of the time, we wrote about ourselves. Then we got into creative writing — writing stories. And in the beginning, we wrote poetry inspired by a famous poet. That was fun.
Q: Do you remember who that poet was?
A: Yeah. Maya Angelou.
Q: What was it like writing a poem inspired by Maya Angelou?
A: It was interesting because I hadn’t really written poetry like that before. I’m still getting used to it, but it’s actually kind of fun — the rhyming and everything. I really like slam poetry too, how people express their feelings through it.
Q: You performed an original poem at Spark’s anniversary. What gave you the courage to do that?
A: I was kind of comfortable talking in front of an audience because I’ve done it before. And a lot of people were like, “Just do it — it’s fun. You get $500.” So I did it. But also, lately I’ve been wanting to express myself more. I’m still shy about it, but I was like, “You know what? I’m just going to do it.”
Q: What’s been helping you express yourself more lately?
A: I’ve been hanging out with my friends, dancing in public — just doing things that are fun when you’re around people you’re comfortable with. My family is always encouraging me to try things that are outside my comfort zone. They’re like, “You should do it. It’s fun.” And sometimes, it is. But yeah, I still get nervous.
Q: One of the most striking lines from your poem is: “When I write, I feel like I’m the ocean beach tide washing up on shore, flowing with ideas.” Where did that come from?
A: Bita [mentor at 826 Valencia] was helping me brainstorm. She asked, “What helps you think or puts you in a relaxing mood when you write?” And I said I listen to nature sounds when I’m studying — ocean waves, rain, that kind of thing. It’s calming. Better than listening to your own music. So as she threw out ideas, I just started typing out what it feels like when I write, and that line came to me.
Q: How did you feel when you wrote it?
A: In the moment, I was just trying to write something. But later, when I looked back at it, I was like, I actually kind of wrote something good there.