There is a season in every life when the world feels uncertain and never-ending; a time marked by innocence, naiveté, and the first stirrings of self-discovery. For debut author Aarron Jenkins, that space became the seed of his first book, Daydreaming. A work of poetry and reflection, the collection explores the universal experience of growing up, carrying wounds and wisdom shaped by circumstance, yet finding the threads that connect us all.
“Daydreaming represents a period in life I’m sure most can relate to where we all were young and naive,” Jenkins explains, “a period where, due to life, experiences, location our stories are very different.” The awakening—which Aarron highlighted in red—is the realization that, in so many ways, we’re more alike than we think. “The fact that anyone can read the book and relate to even one poem proves that,” he says.
Jenkins first began the collection in 2021, sharing drafts with close friends who encouraged him to pursue a full manuscript. But, like many first-time writers, he hesitated. “I think I was more scared of criticism,” he admits. “I’d send someone a poem, and they’d say, ‘Wow, you should write a book.’ But I kept putting it off. Then the universe—or God, or whatever you believe in—kept sending me signs to finish it. There were always signs I should get back to making the book.”
Publishing Daydreaming has opened doors of connection Jenkins never anticipated. “The process wasn’t easy, but nothing worthwhile is,” he reflects. The most rewarding part for Jenkins is when strangers reach out and tell him a particular poem made them feel something deeply. That connection—sharing stories with people who don’t know Jenkins are his favorite moments.
Unlike authors who need rituals or sacred spaces to write, Jenkins embraces spontaneity. “Honestly, I don’t have a specific routine,” he says. “I might write for five or ten minutes if an idea comes, but the second it feels forced, I stop. Later, I’ll return to the unfinished poem and pick it back up when the time feels right. Most of my poems took only fifteen to twenty minutes to write.” For Aarron, inspiration just depends on what life hands him that day.
Every page of Daydreaming is infused with Jenkins’ lived perspective. “It’s 100% my life,” he says. Even if a poem was sparked by something I saw on TV or in public, the lens is still his. Everything is filtered through how he processes the world. “The creation of a poem was still based on how I think about it or from my perspective.”
As with any debut, the publishing process came with unexpected lessons, chief among them, the outpouring of support. Aarron didn’t expect how excited friends, family, and even acquaintances would be about his work. “Everyone I had mentioned it to was so receptive and excited whenever I’d bring up what I was working on, Jenkins shares.
If he could go back and speak to his earlier self, or to other aspiring writers, his advice is simple: Finish it. “All the headache and figuring out how to do certain things seem insurmountable in the moment. But that first finished copy or first feedback from a reader will bring you so much joy. You owe it to yourself to finish that project.”
At the heart of Daydreaming lies a message of shared humanity. “We’ve all been through something,” Jenkins says. “But my experiences aren’t greater or worse than anyone else’s. We all experience things differently. I think the book really highlights that I intentionally wrote stories about topics from the past 25 or so years.” Daydreaming shows how different our stories can be and yet how connected they are. Jenkins wrote in a way so that people could find themselves in the words.
Far from stopping here, Jenkins is already envisioning new ways to expand his creative reach. He’s interested in open mics, visual storytelling, and eventually, more books. “I want to turn some of the poems into cinematic shorts, and just put my face and name in front of as many people as possible. Who knows— but I gotta do my part and at least give it a try.”
With Daydreaming, Aarron Jenkins has offered a debut that feels both deeply personal and universal. In its pages, readers find not only the voice of one young man reckoning with life’s beauty and struggle, but also a mirror reflecting pieces of their own journeys.