I am

I am toes sifting through sand at the beach

I am barefooted on stained city sidewalks on late nights

I am a grateful dog parent

I am a gender fluid, queer identifying person

I am fluent in French through my studies since first grade

I am young and forever growing and changing in my ways

I am quiet and reserved but with observance and open eyes

I am endlessly questioning but still forgiving and gratuitous

I am learning how to love and emit my growing appreciation

I am checking my privilege and learning how to stand up for others

I am slow and shy but will always take a dance

I am open arms

I am endlessly an ally

I am the child and grandchild of the two woman who raised me, even now that they refuse to acknowledge each other

I am the elder sibling to a sister who endlessly enthralls me and makes me proud

I am the younger sibling to a brother who is an artist, that I wish was closer

I am always the daughter to an ever distant father, who still somehow understands me like no other

I am the first in my family to graduate HS in two generations, even if I barely slid by

I am the south west at heart,

I am the desert winds and landscapes of stars

I am the north east evergreens beckoning

I am the recluse cabins and the daily water hole visits

I am both the Pacific Ocean and the chilling Atlantic

I am amidst a culture, my nuclear family does not celebrate or condone

I am a visitor of many homes where I indulge in homemade tortas made with second families

I am hot San Diego days at our favorite fish taco stand and elotes on the corner

I am sharing language and values with my chosen family who have always shared with open hearts

I am always painfully home sick to those who I blindly left behind

I am a North American Traveler

I am hitch hiking to a vibrant New Orleans

I am riding trains through the plains of New Mexico

I am discovering and holding onto community with people from both North and South America

I am dystopian novel’s and social commentary

I am finding solace in Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottoms analysis and growth

I am late nights, flashlights, reading strong women writers

I am the blueberry raker, the tree planter, the seaweed harvester

I am the migrant worker

I am proud and head strong as I push my body to its limits

I am meditation in physical repetition

I am a seed sower

I am a plant nurturer

I am foraging my food and

I am growing my own medicines

I am euphoria in watching things grow

I am interest in living sustainably and being close to the earth

I am patience in chopping wood to heat my home

I am raising chickens to indulge in fresh eggs

I am watching birds out my window and fear for their exsistence

I am cooking dinner by candle light

I am bathing in the local river

I am a pen pal, reminding them all that I care

I am a heart connected to many,

I am unrelenting of distances disconnect