the water we breathe
by There is a photo near the desk where I worked full-time before the pandemic. I used to look at it every time I walked past. It’s a photo from the …
Category: personal
how i interact with the world
we have no choice
One day I received an email from a colleague of mine. Someone from the community had reached out to her in search of food. He was living alone, disabled, unable …
the places we live
the disappearing pool One of my earliest memories is using the pool in my neighborhood park when I was three or four years old. I don’t remember much about the …
playing favorites 2020
Like most millennials, a lot of my reading these days takes the form of news and pop culture. It was a natural progression for the voracious reading habits that began …
the stars belong to us
camping I don’t remember the first time I went camping. I was a baby. I don’t remember the experience but I remember the photos with a vivid intensity. My family …
seeing myself on tv
Even before the pandemic, television has always been my favorite form of visual media. I worked three jobs through college and was well known for falling asleep during movies. I …
like a hammer
Jeffrey Gibson’s exhibition Like a Hammer was on display at the Seattle Art Museum in the spring of 2019. It’s one of the rare exhibits I’ve gone to see more …
the unbearable being of whiteness
In an earlier post, I shared a resource I use by Tema Okun. People suspicious of phrases like “white supremacist culture,” will dismiss it immediately. But even for someone who …
intersectionality in the diaspora
I recently listened to a podcast called Intersectionality in the Diaspora. It’s co-hosted by my friend Clara. The podcast feels like listening in on a conversation between two friends. Clara …
writing my name in lower case started with y’all
Whenever I can help it, I write my name using only lowercase letters. I’ve done this since college at least. I’ve always signed my emails that way. “Proper” nouns in …