Women's History Month: Monsterr

Meet Monsterr. I met her in a support group that helped me with a lot of things, but I originally found it to help me grieve over the loss of my husband. Monsterr is fiercely protective, loyal, and funny.

Kaylyn Gabbert: How old were you when you got your first tattoo? And how many tattoos do you have now? 

Monsterr: I was 18 when I got my first tattoo, the legal age in NY. I got a dragonfly on my left foot.

KG: What does the dragonfly tattoo mean to you? 

M: Back to your first set of questions I realize I forgot to answer how many tattoos I have now! After today, I’ll have 23 if I counted correctly. I’m going with my sisters to get our matching tattoos this morning. 

The dragonfly represents freedom and independence which I needed to feel at the time. I was in a very abusive relationship and needed something to give me the strength to leave. It still took me a while to actually leave, but the representation of freedom helped. 

KG: That's a really cool symbol.

KG: How many states have you lived in now? And, if it's not off topic, what are some of the reasons you moved?

M: I was born in Newport News, Virginia. I was about 3 to 4 months old when my parents, who are both originally from NY, moved back to New York because my dad had lost his job. I got into a relationship in 2018 and shortly thereafter, I moved to Liverpool New York to be closer to where he lived. We moved into an apartment together sometime around there, Also in Liverpool. From Liverpool, we moved to Manlius, New York. From there, we moved down here to Newport News, Virginia. The idea was to get away from well meaning but nosy parents. One thing led to another, and he and I broke up and long story short I stayed and he went back to New York. 

I never wanted to stay in New York. My hometown, Auburn, New York was teeny tiny. Everybody knew everybody half. The town was related to each other. The other half was sleeping together And I always felt like I was a big fish in a small pond. So now I enjoy going back to visit my family, but unless something catastrophic happens, as I tell my mother all the time, I will not be moving back.

KG: My husband felt the same about New York and he was born in a city. But I get what you mean about a tiny town, I didn't live for one in long during my travels, but everyone knowing everyone's business absolutely scared me. I was thirteen at the time, so I didn't know the other half of it. Besides where you are now, what was your second favorite place to live? 

KG: What first got you into writing? Do you only write poetry or do you try your hand at other forms of writing as well?

M: I don’t really remember what first got me into writing. I just know that the more I did it the better I felt. Getting things out from inside my head kept me from self-harming. Writing down the things that hurt me was the only way I could express what I felt when I felt like no one else would listen. I don’t really consider what I write poetry. I just consider it writing. Maybe it’s a bit too on the nose, but poetry to me is just words that rhyme lol. My writing flows together nicely, I’ll give myself that much. But I don’t consider it poetry. I’ve tried to write a couple of different types of books. But I think that I get too caught up in the detail. I’m the kind of person that wants a backstory on every single character. I want to know everybody’s family tree and how they relate to the world. So it’s kind of hindered my writing process in getting farther along in the story than a couple of chapters. 

KG: You strike me as an audiophile such as myself, so I feel I have to ask, do you have a favorite genre of music?

M: I don’t know if I’d consider myself an audiophile. I love music but I don’t collect it or seek it out for comfort or feel it’s how I best connect to the world. As for favorite genre, I don’t have one. I’m definitely a big Swiftie, but I love all types of music. Pop to rap to oldies to country to rock to emo/screamo, and just about everything in between. I DONT like the screamo that’s like talking about wanting to fuck/unalive people. 

KG: My bad, but based on the pages and pages of song suggestions I took a guess. You know, my husband was entirely shocked when I told him I liked country music? But I do not like whiny country music where they are too feeling sorry for themselves. It has to tell a story or be uplifting, and of course it can always do both. Who in your family influenced your music taste the most? Also who in your friends circle influenced your music taste the most?

M: My mom I think definitely influenced my musical taste the most in my family. And from my friends it’s be my chosen family down here, my sisters Erin and Shauna. From them I found and fell in love with Sleep Token.