Current Events
Same history, different day
I wanted to share a piece of history I learned this morning.
In 1988 at Marquette Park in Chicago, the KKK held a rally with around 500 people. This was in response to a multiracial gathering of around 200 folks who had gathered in memory of Martin Luther King Jr. It was noted that approximately 900 officers were dispatched to the area to be present for this event.
There are a few things that I think are important to take away from this event.
First, I want to point out that I was three years old when this happened. This…
Life
I am tired
Before I start this, I want to recognize that other people have it way worse than I do. I am not writing this for pity. I am not expressing these things to get a flood of support. I am writing this because I am tired, and I need to process these things. I have addressed them in pieces over the past year, but I need to do it again.
The Beginning
I feel like I have been in a constant state of free-fall. I am hitting every branch on the way down. My body and mind are broken and exhausted from the…
Life
I miss you often and this isn’t getting easier
Pain is something that I am very familiar with. It has been my closest friend for most of my life, and it has never left my side. These past 12 months have afforded me opportunities to feel pain in ways that I have never experienced in my lifetime. Some of these opportunities have stripped me down to what seems to be only a shell of a human being. I want to process one of these experiences, but I have to let you know that this will not be an easy read.
To Understand
At the end of 2020, my partner at the…
Relationships
We wish it was as easy as you say it is.
There is a hilarious irony in my recent findings that I am an empath instead of a heartless, emotionless creature that I thought I was for years. I am slowly wrapping my head around this, but something clicked for me as I walked into this new revelation. I wanted to talk about the idea of one-night stands and what that means for empaths. Of course, this won’t apply to all empaths, but I think it may bring some clarity for others.
Understanding
I’m not good at many things in this life, but I know that I am good at reading and…
Thrifty Word Challenge #27: Entitlement
Racism
What will it take to convince people that Black Lives Matter?
Joe Biden becoming president has led to the all-too-familiar return to silence and comfortability of white folks who were just furiously telling everyone about the one protest they attended last year to stand up for Black Lives. Where did everyone go? Do Black Lives still Matter to these people? It took public executions of Black folks to push some white folks into finally accepting, oftentimes begrudgingly, that Black Lives Matter.
I am sitting here on a Sunday afternoon wondering what it’s going to take to convince these folks that Black Lives Matter beyond the white guilt they express when they…
Social Justice
Change is a choice
I remember watching white supremacists put on their tactical gear, load their weapons, and point their guns at us in Louisville.
I remember having to scramble with the crowd because we thought one of them was about to pull the trigger.
I remember seeing the fear, terror, and ignorance in the eyes of these fragile men and women.
They were literally shaking in their boots; because they lacked purpose in their presence.
I will forever hold the memory of a Louisville activist walking up to these armed white supremacists, standing 6” from their face, and telling them to fucking do…
Life
Cannabis is medicine
Well, I know this is about to surprise a lot of people that know me personally, but it’s worth it. I want to talk about the benefits of Cannabis and how it changed my life. I can already hear the gasps from people that are like, “You’ve been sober for 10+ years. How could you do this?” Hear me out, though.
History
I used to have some substance use concerns in my teens to early twenties. I started smoking weed when I was 16, and I started drinking when I was a late teenager. The drinking morphed into an issue as…
Relationships
Creating the healthiest foundation for intimate relationships
Navigating relationships is extremely difficult. I find myself freefalling through this new world of being single, and I am trying to figure out what to look for in my next partner. I see old thoughts and ways of approaching relationships creeping into my thought processes, and I have been trying to confront them as they pop up. Yet, it seems my body and mind yearn for the comfortability of old practices, even though all I ended up with were different and consistent states of misery.
Searching for Love
I think it’s easy to jump at the first person that shows us attention. We…
