I feel now more galvanized than ever. I am mortified by the failures of our city and state leaders, who have no problem with authoritarian brutality so long as they are the authors of that brutal force.

I give out trust like it's not risky. My friendliness gets misconstrued as frisky, but that doesn't mean shit, it's probably the whiskey. You’ll think I’m lying because you’ll never ask me. You’ll only hear what you want before you frisk me.

I’ve realized that growing up and growing into self-love sometimes means outgrowing particular standards and people. There is no love lost – just the right amount of courage to walk away for the sake of my self-love.

The male lion is still seen as the strongest of the breed; how can we praise the king, but neglect his queen?

So how did Italians make the transition from the bottom of the hierarchy ladder to the haven of white privilege? They, like the Irish before them, internalized White Supremacy as a means of self-preservation. This was the path to “becoming American.”

They will tell you to change your appearance, not realizing that your very appearance is what gives the gesture life and makes the world upset.

We may have lived in an isolated world the last few months, but how many of us have lived in an isolated world throughout our lives with the privilege to ignore reality?