A Twitter Account for Jackie

Category B, Prompt C

I chose to create a Twitter account for Jackie Woodson. While reading this book, Jackie struck me as a mature, introspective child. The voice I use for he tweets reflects that-- most of her tweets are direct quotes or adaptations from the book.

To begin with, I chose a Brown Girl Dreaming fan art piece to serve as Jackie's avatar. In the book, she talks about the solace she found sitting under the trees in her neighborhood, which is exactly what she's doing in this picture. It is a minimalist and straightforward image, something I think reflects Jackie's personality and writing. She is an honest writer and hardly covers anything under fluffy words but rather discusses issues head-on. Her voice has a calming, soothing element to it as she writes, which I think it well represented by her header. As for her bio, Jackie poses the question "Who is this brown girl dreaming" at the end of the book version I have. I think it sums up the identity crisis Jackie experiences throughout the novel and her desire to be known and accepted by others.

For her tweets, I chose a few quotes from the book. Most deal with identity, as I think it's something Jackie was very concerned about. She grew up torn between the north and south, first between Ohio and South Carolina but later between New York and South Carolina. She grew up feeling inadequate compared to her older siblings. But when Jackie wrote, she felt like herself. She was able to express her deepest feelings, to reveal the longing of her heart: which was to be known. Not known as Dell's sister or MaryAnne's baby or even the brown girl dreaming, but to be know as Jackie.

Finally, I had her retweet a poem by Langston Hughes, who is quoted often in the book. I think this particular poem speaks to the lack of warmth and kindness Jackie felt from the world. This lack of kindness made her feel inadequate, out of place, undeserving of love at times, especially after her father left and her Daddy died. Jackie perseveres, though, waiting for the beauty and the kindness to spring forth from the world again.

I had Jackie follow a few poets (Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and modern poet Rupi Kaur). I thought her love for words would certainly flow out into her social media presence, meaning she would need to follow such people to drink in as many words and stories as she could. I also had her follow Black Lives Matter, the NAACP, and the NY Times. Jackie's maturity and receptiveness of the situations around her are what I think made her so special. I wouldn't think it out of character for Jackie to remain informed and involved.

Overall, Jackie's Twitter would be introspective and quotable, easy to read but hard to digest. She would use complicated words in her character limit. She would use it as a form of expression. Twitter is a great platform to share small thoughts, which is something Jackie loved to do.