My small and mighty jasmine plant gifted me eight blooms for my birthday this year. Just watching it grow bright green leaves and deeply aromatic ivory flowers fills my heart with so much joy. I could dance around my living room inhaling the intoxicating fragrance, with my eyes closed and a smile on my face, for a long while. Hoping all the loved ones I have lost over the years are swaying with me in celebration.
I can hear the robins and the starlings welcoming a sun-filled spring day as I walk through Inglewood bird sanctuary hand-in-hand with my little niece. We all pause at the bridge to admire a vibrant wood duck; all the little ones exclaim “look, look!”, while all the adults meet their wonder. I look around to admire friends and family that have witnessed so much of my life.
I can’t help but feel nourished to have a community that wants to celebrate my milestones and invest in my expansion through the seasons.
This year I had the opportunity to write a short story for an anthology that honoured my lived experience while infusing feminist fantasy genre to dive in deeper as a writer, a behavioral scientist, and a woman.
Three things I learned: Dedicating early mornings to write in Costa Rica while listening to the ocean, trees, birds and animals ignited a different part of my brain. I learned to navigate points of importance for myself and points of reveal for the reader in the story. Collective writing genuinely deepens contributive belonging.
Two things that surprised me: I found auto-fiction liberating as it allowed me to play in the writing process. Just how quickly my inner questionings found their way in to the story.
One question I am thinking about: Which story am I going to reimagine next?
You are invited to the book launch celebration!
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