some lists on the eve of 23, holding in mind and heart all this last year held!

thankful (always) for the chance to keep growing.

 

favorite reads:

More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon

“Positive Obsession”, Octavia Butler for Essence Magazine

Gilead, Marilynne Robinson

Kingdom Animalia, Aracelis Girmay

Dream Work, Mary Oliver

The Light of the World, Elizabeth Alexander

Winnie, Gwendolyn Brooks

 

favorite pods:

Still Processing

The Bruenigs

Longform

Mystery Show

 

films:

Julie & Julia (why hadn’t anyone told me?!)

Whitney

Crazy Rich Asians

Won’t You Be My Neighbor

First Reformed

 

music:

albums from pop queens I could dance and cry to, including but not limited to Robyn, Mitski, Florence Welch, Bantug, Sidney Gish, Maggie Rogers, & Lucy Daucus

magic moments:

watching my cousin love get married (So Much Happiness!!!)

so many weddings (7!!!), so much gladness for people I love

painting the teeny tiny patient nails of my favorite 3 y/o

baking my first sourdough loaf

fairy godmother English professor stopping me after class, following the first time we read aloud our work, gently holding me by the arm and whispering into my ear “you are a writer.”

seeing PM Abiy in DC w/ my family (and over 20,000 other Ethiopians and Eritreans), running into the wonderful Hannah Giorgis and having her share our story so well

falling in love w/ (contemporary) poems in a whole new way, feeling nourished and understood

reading without shame (of not understanding, of not finishing, of not catching the reference)

catching more references, connecting more dots

deepening my relationships in my local community

learning how to live alone, befriend my loneliness, make peace with the quiet

getting it wrong (often)

speaking without eloquence (often)

accepting thanks and forgiveness