One Word 2020: Heal

Last year was forward, which was good in theory. But thinking further healing from the past needs to be part of the process. Only looking forward doesn't help in the long run.

Micro Fiction

I signed up for an online class for writing micro fiction. This is with a professor I had previously had, and I'm excited to be working with her again. 

I'm also looking forward to writing again. I know I need to work on my revision skills and figure that short fiction would be a great place to hone this skill.

Test post

Test post to see if the Blogger app on my Android phone even works anymore.

Racism is not a mental illness

I found this as a draft, of which I'd originally written for a Facebook group. The topic still resonates on its own so I revised this a bit.

Can we discuss racist actions without using words like crazy, insane, or anything else related to mental illness? I've seen this a few times and wanted to write a stand alone post. The point of being more intentional with our interactions on this topic.

Two main points with this, the first being that calling racist behavior crazy can look like an excuse for it. Like someone doesn't know better. Which removes accountability in a way.

The second point is abelism. Using a disability/ disorder to describe something else in a negative way is abelism. With mental illness there is enough stigma around it already that we don't need to use related terms in a negative way. And some of us with mental illnesses are working hard to address racism. Calling someone else's racist actions insane lumps us in with them.

Some other words to use: unbelievable, unacceptable, inappropriate, ect, as a start.

Of darkness and light

Of darkness and light and moving forward. I saw this picture on a Facebook page and it speaks to me. There's something about recognizing the impact of the dark times, and taking those lessons forward. 

Image description: A woman standing with arms forward, light in hand and around her. Text reads "Thoes who have seen the darkness have the most light to give. @therandomvibes".

Image

2019 - Forward

I decided on Forward for my one word. To kick off the year I drew this in my new marker sketchbook. Inspired by Steven Universe.

Picture here because Blogger wouldn't post with it.