All the feels

The past two weeks have been all about reconnecting with my past lives as an educator and artivist. It's been surreal to engage in discussions where I haven't played an active role in 14 years. As much as those ideals have continued to govern how I parent and choose to be involved in my current communities, I haven't been in those spaces in a very long time. Difficult conversations about race relations, solidarity, how Filipinx and Black lives intersect . . . we are still having the same chats we were having in the mid-1990s.

I am grateful that my closest friends -- artists, nonprofit leaders, parents, professors, and public servants -- keep me posted on their work. I have missed being around brown, sassy and smart folk! They keep me woke to the compassionate work that continues within ourselves and the social justice that continues through day-to-day actions in our communities. 

To my reawakening, those ideals that I put long hours into are still a part of me. From one zoom gathering to another, I've been processing all the feels, reuniting with fellow activists in those spaces where identity informs art informs action informs reflection. Where dialogue happens, there's a chance for individual and community transformation, and a conscientization practice. Hello again, Paulo Freire. It's been a while since we were introduced. 

With deepest gratitude to NYC cultural organization arkipelago and organizers and panelists of 1SANG BAGSAK AS VERB. (Isang Baksak gesture literally means “one fall” in Tagalog but is figuratively understood as “things can't get done if people don't communicate and work together”.) 

ISANG BAGSAK!