I am learning to trust myself, those I love, my community. For a very long time, although so many people count on me, I have struggled with allowing myself to be fully seen, known and loved. I have struggled with trust that when I was in need, people would hear my cries, see my tears, […]
Tag: Love
Justice as Praxis in Education (Day 2): Bringing authenticity & ourselves to justice in research & praxis
You are a light. Your story is a gift that we can all learn from. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. Today is day 2 of the Justice as Praxis in Education Conference. We opened by watching Amanda Gorman’s beautiful “The Hill We Climb” and reflecting on her powerful words and what we took from day […]
Intention, Recognition, Action
Sometimes, you have to set a clear intention, make space for it’s realization and watch it manifest. No really. Sometimes it really happens like that. In real life. Sometimes, you have to be seen. The power of having your potential recognized can allow you to grow in ways you never thought imaginable. It can allow […]
82, 56 and the Space In Between
If my mother were living, today would have been her 82nd birthday. She, however, died over 25 years ago, at the age of 56, in a car accident. In my logical mind, I know that, it is likely, given my mom’s age, she might have died of natural causes by now, had her life not […]
The Pain of Exclusion, The Power of Community
Community is such a powerful place to dwell. It was a little over four years ago that a random Asian American woman approached me on an escalator in a convention center and asked if I wanted to come to a meeting of the Asian/Asian American Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English. There […]
Being Seen, Being Recognized
When I was in elementary school, I always wanted to be the class representative, but I don’t remember ever being chosen for student council. I thought that if I continued working hard at my studies, helping my classmates, and helping my teachers, my peers and adults around me would see my “leadership potential.” I worked […]
A Post for Mother’s Day
This is a post for Mother’s Day. But, really, it’s a post about intergenerational healing that has been a process for me, and that has brought me peace, for the first time in 25 years on Mother’s Day. My mother died 25 years, 3 months and 1 week ago. I was 16 years old and […]
Making space for a familiar friend
Today has been strangely hard. Until about 5 minutes ago, I really didn’t understand why I’ve been feeling really bleh today. I made an excellent first-timer Eggs Benedict for my son this morning. I had back-to-back phone calls with colleague-friends who are amazing. I got to have lunch with my sister-friend whom I love dearly. […]
Unapologetically Showing Up for Myself: Reflections on NCTE 19
“To make a revolution, people must not only struggle against existing institutions. In order to change and transform the world, they must change and transform themselves.” Honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to NCTE this year. In the past, NCTE has been a complicated space for me, one that is as exhausting as it can be […]
You’ll Never Walk Alone
Dear graduating 2019 MA Cohort in the Linked Learning Curriculum & Instruction program (and friends), This morning as I woke up, I saw your many posts from commencement last night. I saw the joy of celebrating this momentous occasion with students, colleagues, friends and family. I saw the light of the culmination of a program […]