With her pieces “Peaceful World,” “My Protection” and “Thousand-Mile Walk,” Brandi Meyers, junior, has achieved recognition from the World Poetry Movement, who named her one of the best poets of the past year.

Meyers heard about the WPM’s contest in an online writing forum she joined where she could present her works and receive critique. She chose to submit “My Protection,” a piece she wrote during a free-writing period during the Creative Writing class she took as a sophomore. She was inspired to write it after a lunchtime argument she had with a friend about her introversion.

“I really struggled with self-confidence and self-esteem to the point that I needed to hide at school,” Meyers said.

After sending the poem to the WPM, she received a letter indicating that it would be published.

“They told me my writing style was very unique,” Meyers said.

She later submitted “Peaceful World” to ImportantPoets.com, who also chose to publish her poetry. “Peaceful World” was written when Meyers was in fifth grade for an assignment.

“We were told to write a found poem [a style of poetry where the writer uses words from other sources],” Meyers said. “I took my found lines from cereal boxes. I submitted it because I wanted a happier poem to counteract the more depressing tone of ‘My Protection.’”

Even as a fifth grader, Meyers wanted to deliver a powerful image through her writing.

“I like how things are very symbolic in poetry,” Meyers said. “I wanted it to have some symbolism, like the symbolism of a frozen lake that seems perfect. It shows hope within a crazy life.”

Meyers takes this love of symbolism from the vivid imagery usually present in Native American poetry. She has always especially loved this style of writing, particularly the works of Nancy Wood.

“Native Americans are able to look at the world with such a simplistic yet complex manner,” Meyers said. “They see the world in such a natural way and take things for what they are worth. They always try to paint a picture of some sort. It may not always be a nature scene; sometimes it’s just psychological picture, but they always try to produce some visualization.”

The WPM will feature Meyers in another upcoming book, “Best Poems and Poets of 2012,” where her poem “Thousand-Mile Walk” will be printed. She finds this piece to be considerably more hopeful than “My Protection,” which demonstrates how confident she grew in the year between writing the two poems.

“It’s a poem about faith,” Meyers said, “faith that there will always be someone beside me.”

Meyers is searching for more contests she can enter in the future. She expects that next time, she will use “Shadows,” a piece she recently wrote on the back of a library receipt.

“I have poems just randomly start up in my head,” Meyers said. “It’s just a matter of writing them down.”

She especially hopes she can find a poetry scholarship that can help her attend her dream school, Brigham Young University, where she would like to study pre-law. She hopes to begin a career as a juvenile attorney after earning a law degree at Georgetown University. All the while, she will continue writing as a hobby.

“I’ve always loved poetry; I’ve done it as long as I can remember,” Meyers said. “It’s so different from other forms of writing. Other forms are so structured, but poetry has no rules. Nobody can tell how to write, because nobody can tell you how you feel.”

Meyers’ poetry can be found in the 2012 edition of “Stars in our Hearts,” available for purchase on the WPM website, “Who’s Who of Poetry,” which will be released at a date to be determined, and “Best Poems and Poets of 2012,” which will be released this coming April.