Oakland

Whenever I come back to California, it is like something in my body sings "You are Home, let go, let live."

The people that I have here infuse so much energy into me with their stories. They listen, but they talk. They adventure with me.

Law school draws that energy from me, and I haven't entirely found out how to replace it, but this is where it starts. These people who can inspire me with radical legal thought and social justice. To see people on the street and talk to them about random life experiences and be on a level playing field.

To go to social justice actions on the corner to mourn the loss of QTPOC spaces... even if that means you need to leave your phone in the fridge for fear of government spying.

It is like letting your wings out to air when they have been so closely wound to your body for a prolonged period of time. I love the grit of everyday urban life. Strangers care about you. Starngers want to be your storyteller. I want to be their muse––their recorder.