Hi y’all, it’s been awhile since my last weekend update. For a bit, it felt frivolous to go on about my life while we all grapple with the coronavirus and confronting systemic and personal racism. But when I see examples of black joy, I realize it’s not about diminishing my own joy. It’s about doing the work for genuine equality for all races, but I’m still allowed joy. So instead, I’m living my life with joy while every week I check-in and ask myself what did I watch/read/learn this week and what action(s) did I take towards furthering anti-racism (donate/sign a petition/purchase from and highlight a BIPOC brand). I’m also trying to find the balance between virtue-signalling and silently doing the work. So this is to say I might not always mention the work but I’m committing to continue doing it.

One of the easiest way to incorporate racism awareness into my life has been to watch more BIPOC content on my streaming services. That’s not to say I hadn’t watched black content before (some favorites off the top of my head are the Maya Angelou documentary Still I Rise , the Nina Simone documentary What Happened, Miss Simone?, and the Watchmen on HBO). But TBH I hadn’t watched a lot because whenever I see brutal racism on TV it gives me anxiety and it makes me want to cover my eyes (sort of like when I watch horror movies, but that’s why I don’t watch horror movies). But now I realize I need to watch and sit with the discomfort. It’s a privilege to be able to watch instead of live through these experiences. Recently I watched and highly recommend I Am Not Your Negro (Amazon Prime), Just Mercy (Amazon Prime), Black America Since MLK and Still I Rise (Amazon Prime), and Self-Made Inspired by the life of Madam CJ Walker (Netflix).

And speaking of Black joy, one of my favorite instagrammers is PlantKween. He/She expresses their joy about plants in a way I’m working on (someday I’ll dance in the plant store, but right now I’m dancing on the inside lol). I went to Leafy in San Jose (where I took the picture above) on Monday and it was definitely the highlight of my week (that, and eating al fresco and hanging out with a good friend all on Monday). Yes, things are not the same anymore but I’m still going to love life as much as possible and be grateful for all the things.

How are you guys doing? Well, I hope!