I don’t doubt the school did everything they could to help me, this was the tail end of the 90s and the data and tools we have now didn’t exist. It was the summer before fifth grade, and I was being advanced while the reading tests showed I was two years behind my peers. Teachers … Continue reading Knowledge is Power: My Grandmother’s Tools
Category: Personal Essay
Nurturing Resilience: Unveiling My Childhood Struggles
During my stay with Mehi Mohto’s (fire carried on the head) family this past summer, I reflected on how various events positively shaped my childhood. This period allowed me to gain a new perspective on resilience. An insightful 2017 article from The Atlantic redefined resilience for me: “Current [American] culture thinks of resiliency as gutting … Continue reading Nurturing Resilience: Unveiling My Childhood Struggles
The Power of Tenacity: The Building Blocks of Resiliency
Tenacity as defined by Google; noun: the quality or fact of being able to grip something firmly; grip. The quality or fact of being very determined is determination. The quality or fact of continuing to exist: persistence. Staying with my friend's parents reignited many memories from my childhood because I could openly share adverse events … Continue reading The Power of Tenacity: The Building Blocks of Resiliency
Kwanzaa: A Journey into Cultural Pride and Controversy
As we move through the final days of December, I'm three days behind sharing my reflections on Kwanzaa. I didn't grow up celebrating Kwanzaa, a secular holiday from December 26 to January 1 that offers a moment to reflect, rejoice, and recommit to key cultural and community principles. Last year was the first time I … Continue reading Kwanzaa: A Journey into Cultural Pride and Controversy
Stray Days
I planned to write about the toxicity of body positivity and the negative social journey of gaining weight and losing weight. However, outlining the idea in my head Saturday afternoon leaving (my favorite place in the world) Mission Gardens, a stray dog was walking along the road. Usually, I don’t stop for strays; however, I … Continue reading Stray Days
The Unhinged Beast – Origins III
As I mentioned in part one, these memories happened around the time I started kindergarten or first grade. I was about five or six years old; Hemako (means: one) and I used to play at a park across the street from the house where we (sometimes) lived with Nisi-ohg (means: my real father). This is … Continue reading The Unhinged Beast – Origins III
The Unhinged Beast – Origins II
I want to clarify that I don’t like violence or arguing as a default. I’ve never been a violent person. I don’t like hurting people, even when they’ve been mean or hurt me. However, violence is not out of the question for me either; I had a violent childhood. As a child, I had violence … Continue reading The Unhinged Beast – Origins II
The Unhinged Beast – Origins I
Forward: I'm apparently the type to need a forward ahead of my blog posts, but here we go, I guess. I have finally recognized the "perfection is the enemy of good" messages Co-Star as been telling me... Below is the beginning of another personal essay on the origins of the various characters that make me … Continue reading The Unhinged Beast – Origins I
Healing Pain
I keep reflecting on my experiences with pain since having had these Ketamine infusions and the clarity that comes afterward. It’s like my introspective abilities increase twofold. I’ve likely had an extremely high tolerance to physical pain before I was injured, thanks to physical abuse and trauma in childhood. This was realized after the night … Continue reading Healing Pain
Renewal
After finding out from one of my dearest friends, who I’ll call Lahnis here (means sword; spear, IDKHTS), Smoke Signals was on Paramount+. I decided to watch it. It’s been a while, maybe even close to a decade. I had very few moments in that movie where I didn’t cry, mostly from projecting all my … Continue reading Renewal
finding himdag 