What’s Up Zo? #10: Teach Them How to Say Goodbye

PERSONAL UPDATE

I’ve been listening to the Hamilton soundtrack this a lot lately. Okay, maybe more than a lot…

To be fair, I’m always listening to Hamilton. However, in light of the election results, I’ve been finding a lot of comfort in it. Also, a lot of reflection as well.

There are a few lyrics that always stand out to me:

• “But we’ll never be truly free, Until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me.” – My Shot
• “Let me tell you what I wish I’d known, When I was young and dreamed of glory: You have no control who lives, who dies, who tells your story,” – History Has Its Eyes on You
• “Like the scripture says: ‘Everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid.’ They’ll be safe in the nation we’ve made…” – One Last Time

I think I’ve just been struck with how much the next 4 years could potentially impact the rest of this country’s history. I think the new Hamilton Mixtape has also really just connected some of the events in the musical to what is going on now in the current political climate. Also, I know some people don’t agree with this but I would like to give a round of applause to all the cast of Hamilton but specifically the Broadway cast for not missing their “shot” a few weeks ago with our new vice president elect.

Don’t worry. This is not a political post but merely a form of self-care in being able to get some of my thoughts that I have had in my head into words. Lately, I’ve been feeling this sometimes overwhelming pressure that feels like it’s crushing me from the inside out. My program’s clinical supervisor says I’m experiencing some form of trauma and the therapist I’ve started seeing for my own good agrees that I’ve been shutting down some of my emotions. It’s probably true. There’s a lot of things that I have in my life to be grateful for, there’s no denying that. However, when so many times you’re judged as “less than” simply because of your skin color or because of your gender it would be more surprising if you didn’t have some sort of coping mechanisms, even though they might not be the best in the long run.

Sometimes it’s okay to be sad. Sometimes the best mental health is acknowledging that you’re not happy.

 

Despite all this craziness, I am grateful for my friends who have been open and honest with their pain and fear, those who have checked up on me, and those who just sat with me. If nothing else, I know I have community surrounding me. Also, I’ve been able to find an apartment that’s closer to my school, cutting down my two hour commute to less than 20 minutes. Yes! It’s totally overpriced but it was either nice overpriced studio or crappy cheap apartment that might have some not so fun surprises. And guess what else! I just finished my first quarter of grad school and I’m stuck somewhere between “Yes! This is where I’m supposed to be!” and “If I have to read one more thing about Freud I’m going to bang my head repeatedly against the wall”. Overall, things are going pretty well.

Well, except for the snow. Snow is evil…

I resonate with this so much…

“WHAT ARE YOU READING?”

(You mean besides tons of psychodynamic theories stuff?)

“Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation” by Octavia E. Butler, Illustrated by John Jennings, and adapted by Damian Daffy

More than 35 years after its release, Kindred continues to draw in new readers with its deep exploration of the violence and loss of humanity caused by slavery in the United States, and its complex and lasting impact on the present day. Adapted by celebrated academics and comics artists Damian Duffy and John Jennings, this graphic novel powerfully renders Butler’s mysterious and moving story, which spans racial and gender divides in the antebellum South through the 20th century.

Butler’s most celebrated, critically acclaimed work tells the story of Dana, a young black woman who is suddenly and inexplicably transported from her home in 1970s California to the pre–Civil War South. As she time-travels between worlds, one in which she is a free woman and one where she is part of her own complicated familial history on a southern plantation, she becomes frighteningly entangled in the lives of Rufus, a conflicted white slaveholder and one of Dana’s own ancestors, and the many people who are enslaved by him.

Held up as an essential work in feminist, science-fiction, and fantasy genres, and a cornerstone of the Afrofuturism movement, there are over 500,000 copies of Kindred in print. The intersectionality of race, history, and the treatment of women addressed within the original work remain critical topics in contemporary dialogue, both in the classroom and in the public sphere.

Frightening, compelling, and richly imagined, Kindred offers an unflinching look at our complicated social history, transformed by the graphic novel format into a visually stunning work for a new generation of readers.

“Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts #1) by Vic James

Not all are free. Not all are equal. Not all will be saved.

Our world belongs to the Equals — aristocrats with magical gifts — and all commoners must serve them for ten years. But behind the gates of England’s grandest estate lies a power that could break the world.

A girl thirsts for love and knowledge.

Abi is a servant to England’s most powerful family, but her spirit is free. So when she falls for one of the noble-born sons, Abi faces a terrible choice. Uncovering the family’s secrets might win her liberty, but will her heart pay the price?

A boy dreams of revolution.

Abi’s brother, Luke, is enslaved in a brutal factory town. Far from his family and cruelly oppressed, he makes friends whose ideals could cost him everything. Now Luke has discovered there may be a power even greater than magic: revolution.

And an aristocrat will remake the world with his dark gifts.

He is a shadow in the glittering world of the Equals, with mysterious powers no one else understands. But will he liberate—or destroy?

“The Best Possible Answer” by E. Katherine Kottaras

AP exams—check
SAT test—check
College application—check
Date the wrong guy and ruin everything you’ve spent your whole life working for—check

Super-achiever Viviana Rabinovich-Lowe has never had room to be anything less than perfect. But her quest for perfection is derailed when her boyfriend leaks a private picture of her to the entire school—a picture only he was supposed to see. Making matters worse, her parents are getting divorced and now her perfect family is falling apart. For the first time, Vivi feels like a complete and utter failure.

Then she gets a job working at the community pool, where she meets a new group of friends who know nothing about her past. That includes Evan, a gorgeous guy who makes her want to do something she never thought she’d do again: trust. For the first time in her life, Vivi realizes she can finally be whoever she wants. But who is that? While she tries to figure it out, she learns something they never covered in her AP courses: that it’s okay to be less than perfect, because it’s our imperfections that make us who we are.

“Woman: An Intimate Geography” by Natalie Angier

After fifteen years in print, Woman remains an essential guide to everything from organs to orgasms and hormones to hysterectomies. With her characteristic clarity, insight, and sheer exuberance of language, bestselling author Natalie Angier cuts through the still prevalent myths and misinformation surrounding the female body, that most enigmatic of evolutionary masterpieces. Woman is a witty and assured narrative tour de force with a reliable grasp of science.

Updated throughout and with a new introduction bringing readers up to date on the latest science in evolutionary psychology and hormone replacement therapy, this new edition of Woman reinvigorates Angier’s joyful vision of womanhood.

Original summary: With the clarity, insight, and sheer exuberance of language that make her one of The New York Times‘s premier stylists, Pulitzer Prize-winner Natalie Angier lifts the veil of secrecy from that most enigmatic of evolutionary masterpieces, the female body. Angier takes readers on a mesmerizing tour of female anatomy and physiology that explores everything from organs to orgasm, and delves into topics such as exercise, menopause, and the mysterious properties of breast milk.

A self-proclaimed “scientific fantasia of womanhood.” Woman ultimately challenges widely accepted Darwinian-based gender stereotypes. Angier shows how cultural biases have influenced research in evolutionary psychology (the study of the biological bases of behavior) and consequently lead to dubious conclusions about “female nature.” such as the idea that women are innately monogamous while men are natural philanderers.

But Angier doesn’t just point fingers; she offers optimistic alternatives and transcends feminist polemics with an enlightened subversiveness that makes for a joyful, fresh vision of womanhood. Woman is a seminal work that will endure as an essential read for anyone interested in how biology affects who we are?as women, as men, and as human beings.

THE SONG I JUST KEEP REPEATING…

Okay I have two this time:

“#HAM4BEY” Created By Michael Korte & Arranged By Jared Jenkins

(Sorry not sorry for my Hamilton obsession.)

And for the holidays:

“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” by Pentatonix

Well, that’s all for now, folks! Until next time!

This is my own version of the Sunday Post by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. Don’t forget to check out the posts of others there!