Patterned Union

Happy Holiday Season, Y’all. We can’t wait to see you!

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Happy Monday, Y’all! And I can’t believe I’m already saying this, but happy August! As an educator and mother of a first grader, for me the start of August signals the winding down of summer and the beginning of a new and promising school year. As both an artist and educator, I seek to C R E A T E pathways for students, teachers, families, and communities to D I S R U P T systems and H E A L lineages. So much of what I create in the month of August is geared toward the E M P O W E R M E N T and L I B E R A T I O N of youth who have historically been underserved and miseducated, the educators who serve them, and the families who raise them. I hope you’ll continue to rock with me here A N D where my art, education, and activism intersect.

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Happy Wellness Wednesday, Y’all! Let’s get personal for a moment. Anyone else deal with anxiety? 🙋🏾‍♀️Anyone else have to be intentional about imagining the best case scenario instead of the worst? 🙋🏾‍♀️ Anyone else sometimes have a hard time getting going because of racing thoughts and worry? 🙋🏾‍♀️

Anxiety has journeyed with me for as long as I can remember. I was an anxious child. I’m an anxious adult. Some of the things that are especially helpful for me in managing the anxiety that tends to linger just below the surface are daily walks at sunrise, meditation, mindfully caring for my plant family, and maybe most of all - a consistent affirmation practice.

Audre Lorde, the champion of R A D I C A L S E L F - C A R E, reminds us that anxiety is a liar. Take her words with you, take charge of your wellness and your self-care, and know that you are bigger than fear, more than your anxiety, and you got this. Always.

And here are a few more affirmations that are helpful for me:

🌱 I AM deliberate and afraid of N O T H I N G
🌱 At this moment, right here and now, A L L i s W E L L
🌱 I L E T G O of all the things that make me anxious
🌱 I am relaxed and peaceful because I T R U S T the process of life