Black Lives Matter Movement
I feel like it's time to get back to Instagram and maybe even blogging.
Not really blogging though. Posting here just seemed like the easiest way to get
all of my thoughts down in one place without rambling on my Instagram story.
A little over a month ago, I posted the black square with the majority of
other users on Instagram. But that square didn't feel like enough to me. I
felt like the right thing for me to do was to be silent and listen and
learn. Everything I thought about posting even for a second felt wrong, like
there was nothing that I could say that was right or helpful. I chose to
mute my Instagram so that my posts wouldn't be diluting the actually
important things that were being posted and so that I could take some time
to reflect on how I can be better. I didn't plan out an exact amount of time
to stay silent. I waited until I felt uncomfortable not
posting, because I often go weeks without posting. Once I actually wanted to
post again, I made myself wait longer to continue focusing on more important
things and ways to better myself. I now feel comfortable to start posting my
normal content again, but first I want to share a few things that have been
meaningful to me. I'm saving them here to share with all of you and also for me to have easy access to come back and reflect.
My thoughts:
This is the best way that I can sum up how I feel about the Black Lives
Matter movement:
If I were talking about how Pancreatic Cancer, which
just reached a 10% 5 year survival rate
and killed my dad, is the worst cancer and needs more attention and more
funding, and anyone came up to me and said, "That sucks, but all cancer
sucks and needs more attention." I'd probably punch that person in the dick.
Yes, good job, all cancer sucks, but Pancreatic Cancer barely gets any
attention (comparatively) and is statistically the worst one. People who
have been affected by or had a loved one affected by any other type of
cancer have every right to disagree with me, of course. But would you go out
of your way to post something against Pancreatic Cancer getting more
attention? Would you hang an anti-Pancreatic Cancer flag? Probably not.
Would you attack me on social media for my opinion? Maybe, but you'd look like a real dick if you did.
Now replace all the Pancreatic Cancers in here with just being a person
of color in America.
Things that I've been reflecting on:
This one may have sparked my Instagram silence. Ivirlei talks about standing
up and being uncomfortable. She talks about a lot of what I'm still working
on. I also love how much you can tell that she truly cares and has thought
all of this through.
I shoot with Tiffany regularly, and she has been an amazing guide through
these past weeks. She has been heavily advocating for all types of
clothing, cosmetic, and other brands to be more diverse. As a
photographer, I quickly notice when a brand is one dimensional with the
people who model their clothing, but Tiffany is actually taking action to
make this change by calling brands out.
Mindy Kaling reshared this, and I feel like it perfectly captures how I've
been feeling.
I love Chicks in the Office, and I have loved their stand. This speech
meant a lot to me, and inspired my thoughts on how this relates to
Pancreatic Cancer.
Fletcher is an AMAZING singer, and I love the caption of this post
because it is how I've been feeling too.
I don't know how I came across this post. It was probably
something that I saw get shared, but it definitely resonated with
me and reminded me that this is similar to how different people grieve
in different ways.
