A quick note on Baltimore

Unlike some media sources and some others from Baltimore, I don’t see animals, thugs, or subhumans when I see pictures of protesters. I see a community that’s angry, that’s grieving, that’s hurt beyond belief. I see a city that is tired of waiting for help and support that was never coming. I see a city that is DEMANDING attention and change, both of which are long overdo. I see a movement that has been building for years. And I see people dedicated to change, not willing to lie down and let continued instances of institutional and systemic racism oppress them any further.

Violence is never the answer, and I mourn for those affected by the chaos erupting in my home city, police, bystanders, and protesters alike. I absolutely condemn the actions of the outsiders coming into these protests and attempting to hijack them for their own selfish objectives. But I stand in solidarity and support those who are marching in the streets, peacefully yet loudly demanding the changes that they more than deserve in their city. Charm City cannot only be “charming” for the white people.

Stay safe and stay strong, Baltimore.

JOKES

Remember how I said I was going to blog frequently?

Yeah, well, clearly that was false.

In my defense, there really haven’t been too many things to write about recently. Okay, maybe that’s not true. There have been a lot of things I COULD have written about. I could have written about the whole “let’s not vaccinate our children” thing. I could have written a book review of the final Percy Jackson book (summary: I didn’t think it was good). I could have posted just general ramblings about by service corps year (summary: real happy there’s only 4 1/2 months left). Yes, there were plenty of things I could have written. I just, well, didn’t do it.

My excuses: I’m lazy, I didn’t feel like it, and I just finished writing the first draft of a novel.

Woohoo bet you weren’t expecting that last one.

Yes, I wrote a novel. It needs a TON more work, but it’s out there on Word document paper. That consumed a lot of my time, as you can imagine, and still consumes a lot of my daily brain power. Generally, I’m so caught up in writing that story that I totally forget I have a blog and can write OTHER stuff that’s not YA Fiction.

Well, this is me remembering I have a blog. This is also me rededicating myself to writing blog posts (and maybe finishing some of the ones I started….) and using this guy for stuff.

All aboard the ally- ship.

I’m featured in this AH-MAZ-ING project by the glorious Sage, with a piece on being an ally. Check it out, as well as all her previous posts; this project is doing some AWESOME things #freethenipple

RehumanizingBodies

This post is brought to you by one of the most positive, genuinely kind and, loving people I know, Sarah Holland. A recent college graduate now working in Washington D.C, she brought the idea of writing about allyship to me, I am so grateful that she shared such beautiful words and that I can now share them with you. Thank you so much Sarah!

Ally. Not the name, but the label. What does it mean?

According to the dictionary, and ally is “a person, group, or nation that is associated with another or others for some common cause or purpose.” That’s seems like a pretty accurate definition when put in the context of social justice. If you are, say, an LGBTQ+ ally, you are most likely a straight person standing in solidarity with LGBTQ+ individuals to support gender equality, equal civil rights, and to end heterosexism. Great!

But what does that mean for…

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