100+ songs to sustain a movement — a playlist for the streets

Favianna's iconography of the migrating monarch butterfly is a symbol of immigrant rights. Calvin's project, Wakanda Dream Labs, bridges fandom with activism, because popular culture and the dreams of Afrofuturism are the foundations for Black liberation. In Poetry is Not a Luxury, Audre Lorde wrote that "[poetry] is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of the light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into idea, then into more tangible action."

Making Art: But Is It Waste?

Photo by Christopher Campbell Not long ago, I completed Design Discovery, an intensive architecture summer program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. On the last day, after commencement, a friend took a video of me merrily destroying a bag full of massing models. It wasn't a cute little tote bag either -- I had …

Christmas 2018 in Taos, New Mexico

One of the great things about living in the States again is that we can slowly begin exploring the states we haven't been to yet. America is as large as it is diverse, and my friends tell me that regional stereotypes do hold some truth in them yet. Anyway, during this vacation, I did not …

BAPTIZO! (Testimony)

It's been nearly two decades in the making, but I finally got baptized this Sunday. I was given five minutes to testify how Jesus has worked in my life. Here's what I said: My name is Gloria. I stand here to proclaim what God has done in my life, and to dedicate myself to Christ. …

Drawing the Burden

Nobody gets an A in drawing. We're started off at a C, and work our way down or up. It's not meant to be an easy class. One would have been quite pleased with a B. I'm not proud of myself because I got a perfect A. And this isn't humble bragging -- the credit …

Taglines, Sketchbooks, and Records

A couple of observations, this second weekend of June. On Thursday, I changed my tagline. Big deal, right? "Nothing to offer except my own confusion," to "pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria tua." I felt that the former no longer represented my worth or sense of self. The latter however, is a phrase taken directly …

The Imposter Artist

God, you have been good to me. You have rescued me from many dangers, and used me as Your vessel. But now, I'm tired. My spirit is still willing, but my flesh is so weak. Can I burn this brightly without burning out? As I shine out into the darkness, will I not attract the …

Chalky Yellow Streams

I saw you when you walked into class today. Bare legged and wet from the rain, the first thing I noticed was the fear in your eyes. Despite the fact that it's early June, today was chilly. Outside, pollen flowed downhill in chalky yellow rainwater streams, and whirled around in eddies, parallel to small footpaths. …

Testimony: Amazing Grace

When I entered college, I operated under two assumptions: firstly, that I was neurotypical*; and secondly, that I would become a pre-medical biochemistry major, as soon as I got the chance to declare. My first and second year, respectively, broke apart these foundations of how I understood myself as a person and student, but gave …

Dvořák String Quartet No.12 (American)

This semester, my quartet has been working on the first two movements of the "American" Quartet. It's been an exciting and rewarding journey, and we gave our final performance on December 6th. Here's a YouTube upload of our concert. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/-usF7qjA-sk Fall 2017 performance at Wellesley College II. Lento I. Allegro ma non troppo Gloria …