I am

I wanted to share a poem I wrote last week at an amazingly inspiring workshop created by the New Wilderness Project, a project to promote greater, more in-depth cultural competency around the country. The presenters and performers, Maketa and Benjie, shared and taught us many important lessons, but the key ones for me were the following:

• Think about your passions and how you bring them to your work and life
• Find balance with your passions and work
• Link creativity with nature/wilderness and social justice/equity work
• The importance of sharing our stories with each other as a tool for social justice
• It's about what we’re fighting for, not about what we're fighting against
• Speak your truth
• Remember anger comes from a deep pain
• There is no normal!
• Everybody has an interesting story
• The poet is in the poem
• Everyone is a poet…and a poem

Here is my poem:

I am from the era of iPhones, Facebook and reality TV
I am from the fun language of "Op" passed down by the women in my family
I am from the scent of raspberries and butterscotch at the neighbor's house on summer afternoons
I am from the kingdom of 5 cats and 1 dog, plus my mom and me
I am from Wednesday night dinners at Wendy's with my dad
I am from the wonderful day trips around the Sound that my mom took me on as a child
I am from the pristine waters of the Strait of Juan De Fuca and the Snohomish River
I am from the majestic Cascade and Andes Mountains towering above my homes
I am from the bustling Malecón in Salinas on a hot and humid evening
I am from the ceviche and patacones and canguil
I am from the swish of the waves all along the Pacific
I am from the sway of hips to salsa and merengue music
I am from the community of friends and family who take care of me while in paradise
I am from Everett...Ecuador