Friday. We made it. This week has been a doozy, and I’m running on the last of my fumes typing this post. My mind is exhausted from the mental gymnastics I’ve put it through this week trying to figure out how and why some people are able to remain so quiet and…
What Adoption Taught Me About Family Separation
Originally posted on VISIBLE Magazine
As Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prepares to begin immigration raids tomorrow, my heart breaks for the children currently waiting to be reunited with their parents and those who may be separated in the near future. Being adopted, I understand the lifelong trauma they face and urge policymakers to do everything in…
“Anything is Possible. Everything is Possible.”
Despite growing up in the suburbs, I’d always considered myself a “city girl.” I preferred the hustle and bustle of destinations like my beloved Chicago. Places so crowded that an introvert like me could navigate relatively unnoticed. Somewhere to blend in… disappear, even. It’s easier than ever to do that in today’s…
VISIBLE: Capable of Being Seen
Eleven years ago, I opened up the iMovie app on my computer, pressed the record button, and began to tell my story. It was a Friday night, and I was supposed to be getting ready for a fun night on the town with my girl friend. Instead, the anxiety of planning for…
Sa-I-Gu
Photo by Mick Taylor – CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
“Sa-I-Gu.” The literal translation of this Korean phrase is April 29. On this day in 1992, the American Dream turned into a nightmare for Korean business owners as their stores burned to ash in the midst of the Los Angeles riots. Framed as a race war centered on the so-called “Black-Korean conflict,”…
Las Vegas in 35mm
This morning, I picked up negatives from the roll of film I shot in Vegas. The trip was such a whirlwind that I didn’t even remember what specific pictures I took. It was a happy surprise scanning each individual frame and reliving it all. There is something about Vegas that lends itself…