Welcome to my headspace
This is not an opinion...I am racist by default. We are all inherently racist. And that is OKAY. Sit in it. I’m not calling myself or whoever is reading this a "bad person." If you don’t begin the lifetime ~active~ process to unweave your internalized biases… well, then that’s a different kind of racism. You... Continue Reading →
I was having a sleepover with my good friend Laura the other night and we crawled into bed. She looked at the blanket I had and asked if that was still the one her Mom had gifted each of us in our friend group in college. I said yes. Then, I told her the other... Continue Reading →
Today was my due date in 1996. I would be turning 24 today. Instead, me in the womb, decided to hold off and grant the future me some space. Four years ago my dad took his last breath. And 24 years ago I was born on October 8th… instead of today. I should’ve seen him... Continue Reading →
Deep sadness normally hits me on random days. Everyone's experiences in loss are intimately and intricately different, but I found the "big" dates at the beginning really hard... birthdays and death dates. But for the first few years you're mourning all the time anyways so another day of laying in bed and crying doesn't feel... Continue Reading →
Four years ago, life was really testing me. In the midst of a terminal cancer diagnosis in my family, Zafer died from a heroin overdose. My first love - first everything. I believe that every encounter you have is an energy exchange. That you touch each single other being you come in contact with. There... Continue Reading →
Most applications remind us what picture, status, or ‘memory’ took place a year or two from this day. My brain has done this for me since February 6th, 2016. This is the day I found out my dad had cancer- his death sentence. Since then, birthdays, Father’s Day, my dad and Zafer’s death dates, ‘last... Continue Reading →
“I feel like it comes easy to you. I feel like you’re just meant to do something like this. I just don’t know if I am.” I remember during pre-service training a volunteer in my cohort told me that through her tears of uncertainty about this experience. I was flattered at the time but tried... Continue Reading →
Four years ago I made the choice to stop eating meat. As a freshman in college, I wanted to see if I could do it and save money. As the years have passed, I’ve noticed a unique shift in my mindset with a more connectedness to the beings around me. I see them. I... Continue Reading →
It was Fall 2016 and I was a junior at Appalachian State University. The doctors told us he had six more months left to live. I decided that staying in school was what I needed to do for myself. There are times when I look back and wonder if I made the right decision, however,... Continue Reading →
I’m in week eight on these islands and I still can’t believe I’m here. The past few months have been a strength I haven’t known about myself. A strength that I know has only just begun. Between a deep loneliness and the fear of missing out on the life I left back home, I know... Continue Reading →
Allison Leigh DeJong 