Human Library 2020

"You've got luck in your misfortune" my friend said in the ER, where I was waiting in a splint after being run over by a 16,000lb truck. It was true, I’ve often had luck in my misfortune. Sometimes events that seemed like the worst possible outcomes have turned out to provide essential life lessons and opportunities. Through academic failure, domestic violence, divorce, being unhoused, and the occasional accident, I’ve allowed myself to grow and overcome. Life is scary, sometimes so are the opportunities.

When everyday sounds trigger a fight or flight response in your central nervous system, being deaf sounds like a blessing. It took 10 years for me to be diagnosed with a neurological condition called Misophonia, quite literally “fear of sound.” Navigating a sensory processing disorder as a musician and a student is hard. Walk with me through my decade-long journey to finally getting a diagnosis, and discover how I face the noise of the world every day.
 

What does it take to have the courage to pursue your passions and use your unique skill set to follow your dreams? How can you learn to trust your own inner voice when so many external voices are trying to influence your path?

True story.
Carolina, my son’s caretaker: “Wait?! You’re an atheist? But you’re so good to me. If you don’t believe in God, why are you so nice?”
Me: “Because I am an atheist.”
I have never, ever believed in God, Gods, higher beings, supernatural spiritual forces. I believe in humans. I believe in science. I believe in goodness. Not despite, but because I am an atheist. 

After I graduated from the University of Michigan, I went to Honduras to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer. My project was in the health field, with a focus on child survival and HIV/AIDS education, in a very small town in the department of Santa Bárbara. During the more than two years I was in Central America, I learned so many lessons that I couldn’t have imagined when I applied to be a volunteer. My book is about daily life as a Peace Corps volunteer and what I learned about my host country, the world, and myself during those 27 months.

I have had a long, painful history of concussions. In case some do not know, a concussion is a traumatic brain injury that occurs when their is a severe blow to the head, and the brain is somewhat "bruised." I will be discussing how I received this injuries, and how I can feel it affect my mental health and overall brain function purely from the perspective of how I am able to think with brain damage.

Are all athletes at F&M Blue?

In the military it is often said that, "everyone is green." This attempt to diffuse racial tension is intended to place emphasis on unit cohesion and esprit de corps. As a veteran, I have seen this break down in a variety of ways. A new vocabulary of colorism emerges and polarization still occurs. However, cohesion and esprit de corps of the larger collective remain essential. How does this apply to civil society? Let's chat about that.