We Do Write Ourselves: A Moment with Jashana

I met Jahshana here on IG—had no clue she was in this country much less in NYC. She was the only one to respond to an IG story question I’d posted asking for a nonwestern language translation of “I have been thinking”. Fast forward and her language lesson offering became the name of a popup experience that’s probably the most resonant popup I have ever done.

So Jahshana, thank you for being a supporter but also joining a congress of women who remind me of my vision and “why” when it comes to US and our narratives.  Thank you for introducing your friend Binta and for both of your substantive, warm energy at yesterday’s event. For giving me the privilege of observing a moment I rarely/never get to see: teastained women when they’ve received their Vagabroad Journal. For finishing your first Vagabroad Journal and blessing me by choosing another.

And finally:  For teaching me the phrase “magui xhalaat”, a metaphor for me, that teastained women’s narratives need not/should not translate into a romance language to be valid and valiant.

Thank you to EVERY soulful being who supports Vagabroad so fully and lives to help dismantle a culture of amnesia and the disregard for OUR lives as OUR histories.

Journey Soulfully.