Learning without anguish, Teaching without fear, Creating without limits
While this is a standalone essay, it is also a response to Preaching to the Choir This is a story about labor. It is about the work that I do, the work that I should do, and the work that I do not want to do. This is a story about work that starts at birth …
I wish I could say I “found” this while finishing my run today, but it found me. I had seen something fluttering around, getting tossed back and forth along the edge of the highway about a block away, but I didn’t think too much of it. I had been struggling to get in formation with …
When things get difficult, I find myself wishing I could skip to the end. Not so far forward that I will have accomplished everything, because there would be no satisfaction in that. I want to fast-forward just enough, to the moment where I’ve broken the threshold of the last page, to where I have just …
"In loving memory... / of hugs, fellowship, breathing freely / of the unknown experiences that entail a "normal" first year..."
“She emerges three-dimensional from the flat, plaster setting as though breaking through water—though whether she is coming up or going under is unclear. Her position is contrapposto, arms raised as though awaiting the click of my camera. The energy of her nude body is wound tight and ready for release. Her next move is a …
when I’ll meet Me. if we have already met but are not on speaking terms. * what my mother’s mother looked like. what my father’s father smelled like. which part of this body that I critique so much is actually an heirloom. * if pain will always be a prerequisite to happiness, for Bodies like …
ANONYME My name is whatever. My face is not important. You do not need to know me, Identify me. Just know that I am Black. But also that "black" is not All that I am .
(written March 2019)Here is the Statement of Purpose that I wrote as part of my grad school application to The Pennsylvania State University, where I will begin a dual-degree PhD in French and Women’s Studies in Fall 2019: I. Concentration One crucial take-away that I gained from my college experience is that my strengths and …
I originally wrote this post as part of my student internship with my school’s literary magazine, The Shenandoah Review, and it was featured on their student-run blog in November 2017. With our each current US Presidential administration, its content becomes more relevant every day: The title of this blog post was meant to go with …
Continue reading "RePost: The motherland that was never mine"
(written August 2017) Of the many wonderful opportunities I’ve had this summer, I’m especially grateful to have been able to read at my own pace. This applies to the audio books I’ve listened to during my morning jogs; the growing pile of French and English novels that I’ve chosen to analyze for my upcoming honors …
Bad Blackadémique 