A 10-YEAR-OLD SCREAMED AT ME, "I WANT TO TATTOO 'HERT' ON MY ARM!"
I was invited to Washington Elementary in Lynwood to read Dr. Seuss to the kids. I chose the book, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” A friend of mine who has two kids there blessed me with the opportunity to go. I went in blind, unsure of what the day would actually entail. I park and start walking towards the office when I hear a faint, “Are you, Erik?” I immediately doubletake to see if I had misheard my name. “Are you Erik De La Cruz?” which at this point, the kid had about 6 friends with him. “You’re the author. You know my mom.” I was still shocked that this kid knew me. He then tells his friends, “He’s an author. He’s famous.” I owned it. Suddenly, the crowd became 12 students around me being bombarded with questions. I had a copy of Hert in my hand, I held it up, and they stared in amazement. “You’re Erik De La Cruz? De La Cruz like Coco?” then one kid yells, “You wrote the Coco songs?!” I replied, “Whoa, chill. I’m not there yet. I wish.”
I walk into a room, heavily decorated with a theme of Dr. Seuss who is one of the huge reasons I’m a poet to this day. We got to sign up to read for three classes, I chose 3rd grade, 4th grade, and then 2nd grade. I was an instant hit. My enthusiasm and reading captivated the kids, they were hooked. They kept wanting me to read more. Suddenly, my friend Veronica came into the room telling the teacher that I was a #1 Best Selling author on Amazon. The kids practically jumped out of their seats in shock. “You’re an author?! No wonder you’re so good at reading!” and “Whoa… I’ve never met an author before,” I heard from the back of the class. The teacher tried to regulate the Q&A but kids just could not contain themselves of the excitement. “How old are you?” a kid asked. “I just turned 27.” Then he replied, “You don’t look a day over 21!” I said, “I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing, but I’ll take it.” The cool kid in the class then asks me, “Why is it called Hert?” … “Well, you normally spell hurt as in h-u-r-t, but I put ‘her’ in the word to portray that I was hurt by her.” The kids lost their minds. The friend of that kid then yells, “Yeah, he knows what hurt is, he got friend-zoned!” And here I am, busting up laughing at these 10-year-old kids talking about the existence of a friend-zone and roasting each other.
Telling them I took two years to write the book sent the entire room into an uproar because for a bunch of 10-year-old’s, that seems like centuries.
I was wearing my Hert hoodie which has my back cover illustration across the front and “Hert” written on the elbows. One kid in the class realized that I was wearing my merch and yelled it. This cute little black girl raises her hand, she shows me a picture of a dress that she drew with colored pencils, “I really want to make fashion. How do I do that?” I took a second and said, “Listen, what I would say to you is this. Don’t let anyone tell you, ‘no.’ because I didn’t. I taught myself everything. Like how you may watch YouTube videos on fun stuff, I watched a lot to teach me how to do things like design, make merch, or even make a book… I wasn’t going to take no for an answer and I made my own thing out of nothing.” She smiled and I could see her eyes light up. The kids begged me that I create kid merchandise sizes, accessories, stickers, so I did and created a whole new store.
One of the kids asked me, “Why did you choose to read, ‘Oh, The Places You’ll Go!’ to us?” I said, “I felt it was important to show you guys that there are so many places one can go beyond their wildest imagination. Because I believed that there were so many places I could go, and I wasn’t going to stop and be stuck in the waiting place.”
A girl asked me, “Were you a really good student?” ... “I wasn’t necessarily one of the top students, I did get Dean's List or Honors here and there but what stood me apart from the rest was how hard I was willing to work. My work ethic is what drove me to where I am today. I worked harder than everyone. I’m making money off of my book. I’m making money off my writing, something I love to do, the ones that are the smartest are just... smart.” To which the teacher replied, “Well, that’s the nicest way you can put that.”
“Look at the valedictorian scared of the future, while I hop in the Delorean.” - Good Morning by Kanye West
“How did you write?” … “I took all my emotions and put them on paper, figured out there was a story to tell, so I told a story of my truth, and put it in a book.”
There were other readers... firefighters, police officers, high school students, even famous individuals like Jenni Rivera’s daughter Jacqie, more established authors, but I was a celebrity. I had kids chasing me down just to ask me questions and sign autographs.
I had the uninterested troublemaker-type kids who were slouching and laying their heads on the desk, all of a sudden on the edge of their seats once I told the class I was an author and showed them, Hert. All the classes insisted on me reading them a passage to which I would tell them, “Once you’re 16, you’re able to read my book. It is not for kids.”
The second-grade class was the cutest of all. It seemed like word spread quickly because I would constantly hear whispers of, “That’s Erik. He’s an author.” and quickly the respect was gained, when I talked they were captivated and listened intently. During my speech, a kid came up to me with a piece of paper wanting me to sign an autograph. Kids started proudly expressing what they love(d) to do. One kid stood up, took off his jacket where he showed me a “Math-a-lon” shirt that he was going to compete in next year. How much he loved math and how good he was at it. Suddenly, I had kids telling me that they draw things like Sonic or Pokemon. They would ask me for advice. The bell rang for recess. They all stormed me as I sat in front of the class… they had any piece of paper they could find, homework, these special cards the kids had to earn, this kid asked me to sign his forehead which I politely declined. A little girl came to me with a Ziploc bag she was using for lunch, I was confused for a second, but I still signed it. Later, she was going around recess bragging to all her friends that she got it signed “by the author.” The kids stayed wasting their recess time to wait for me to sign whatever they had. It was so crazy having 20 little babies waiting in line and bombarding me for a signature. The teacher said something like, “as soon as the bell rings, they’re out the door.” I was awestruck at the moment, I was a celebrity. A glimpse of it. It wasn’t just the students. Adults noticed. Kids were following me around. They would gravitate to me. Teachers and volunteers taking pictures with me.
It was such a surreal moment. It was such a wonderful experience. It gave me a subtle taste of the influence I can have on the world. Although the subject matter of my book is not suitable for kids, my story is something worth being told and for a school predominantly filled with Mexican and Black kids, that’s special. They see themselves in me. I came from nothing and am turning it into something special, a movement that will spread throughout the masses.
A little girl approached me, “I’m going to tell my mom to buy your book.” … “Why?” … “She loves watching movies and things that are about heartbreak.” … “Oh, I’m sorry. That sucks.” … “No, she loves my dad. They’re still together. I think she’s preparing.” … “Well, she’s going to love my book then.” … As I died of laughter.
There’s power in the introduction of yourself, when I said, “I’m Erik De La Cruz.” The kids' ears perked up and I had their attention.
Being a #1 Best Selling Hispanic American Poet is nice and all, but what impact I’m having on people already is beyond anything I can express. I told them, I started writing at their age. Girls had “cooties” but I wrote poems to my mom; that later turned into nature, music, then experiences with love as I grew older.
I made kids believe in themselves. This brought a beam of life in me beyond anything. It is my destiny. To help the next generation, the current generation, and the generation above me, it doesn’t matter. I’m destined to change lives and my words will move worlds, my words create worlds, my words will and can do anything I want them to do.
There’s beauty in my words' intentions and I intend to inspire. That’s all I ever wanted. And this is just the beginning.
Oh, The Places I’ll Go!
I hope you come with me.
Love,
Erik De La Cruz.
