“We’re thrilled to be spending our first holiday season together and outside of hospitals for the first time in 6 years. Even if we have to spend it socially distanced outdoors or over Facetime, we’re together. It’s an honor that we cherish deeply.”

“How can we hold the complexities of a month meant to center celebration, when so many members of the community are suffering?”

“There is so much more to this world than the binary of punishment and retribution.”

“As with most things, this spectrum of evaluation is contextual, and requires us to be honest about the present moment in order to have an accurate framework.”

“What does it mean to build a world that is not just recovery from trauma, but also preventing trauma in the first place?”

“Finding the pace where we are able to both fight for change and also cultivate self care and resilience is a lifelong and arduous task.”

“How on earth did my ancestors choose to stay in this fight?”

”I’m not content to let dead white men dictate the ways in which language opens up my understanding of the universe.”

“The ocean rises to meet you exactly where you are.”

“I don’t know how to write all the shattered pieces of myself into something legible.”

”Viewer, putting an Instagram filter on my footrace with death and calling it allyship.”

“Marginalized communities are forced to constantly mourn the losses: the loss of time, the loss of family, and the loss of life. Resilience can feel like an assignment that you never asked for, with no chance to opt out.”

”This work, even in all of its honesty, is a respectable version of me.”

“With the difficulties presented by COVID-19 and the global outrage following the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and countless others – staying informed, connected, and resilient can feel even more daunting.”

“When you connect with LGBTQ+ virtual spaces – whether through Fordham, NYC, or elsewhere – there are others reaching out across the bandwidth in your direction.”