Hey y’all!
Welcome to Miranda’s Musings– a weekly newsletter that’s basically going to be an amalgamation of my thoughts. It’ll probably include reviews of books I’m reading, thoughts on current events, happenings in my life, etc. Who knows?
Girl, why are you even writing this?
Well, there are a few reasons.
First off, who hasn’t wanted to start a blog? Okay maybe it’s just me, but I have always wanted to have a consistent blog and the closest thing I’ve ever had to that was my Tumblr account. When I created this newsletter, I actually looked into creating a blog but I’m not sure that I really want to invest the time into a whole website and this seemed simpler.
I want to get out of my head about my writing. I really hate when people read my writing. It feels mortifying on an unwarranted level. So I guess this is my form of exposure therapy. Plus the only way to get better at something is to practice, right?
I guess those are the only two reasons… Basically it boils down to, because I want to.
Musings
This is something I actually wrote last week in the light of the Roe v. Wade ruling so I thought I’d share it here. It was just me trying to process all the thoughts and emotions I was experiencing at once.
Sometimes I am ROCKED by the reality of my privilege. When I found out that Roe v. Wade was overturned I was sitting outside in the sun, enjoying an acai bowl that I spent nearly $15 on while on a Zoom call for my paid fellowship. When I look my privilege in the face like this, I often feel like I’m not doing enough. But it’s so hard to figure out what enough is.
I feel guilty unless I am pouring my whole heart and soul, giving all of my time, sacrificing my own well-being to this work. I feel like I have no control over my own life and the only way to make peace with that is to give my whole existence.
As I write this, I am expected to be an active participant in a workshop for my fellowship—to read, write, and discuss the environmental injustices plaguing our communities. A privilege in and of itself, to sit on a Zoom call that we are being paid for, to have a conversation about the issues. Sometimes I feel no better than the politicians that just talk and talk and talk, never taking action to protect us.
Today we are reading and reflecting on excerpts from Mona Hanna-Attisha’s book What the Eyes Don’t See about the Flint water crisis. And with half of the states having already made or being in the works of making abortion illegal, I feel like our politicians can work so quickly to take away our rights, to move us backward in the world. But even something as simple as access to clean water is years in the making, stripping all trust from a community as their government lies to them about their health and safety.
I feel like the world should be in an uproar. As I watch people get food, shop, drive, and continue with their days, I want to stop them. I want us to come together—to hug each other, to cry, to mourn. I want us to grieve so loudly that we can be heard. All I want is for us to be heard. I feel like there is so much to do and also that nothing can be done at all. No screaming, yelling, violence, pain, or hurt can reverse this. And so I too must continue my day…
I won’t give this work up. I won’t become complicit. There are people fighting for this and it’s not over until we give up. And I know we won’t. So we will continue to fight until we win.
Find or donate to your local abortion fund.
Recent Reads
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
My supervisor recommended this book to me and wow, she was not kidding that this is a must-read. It’s a collection of short stories and after reading the first one, I could NOT put this book down. Philyaw's writing made me feel like she has lived many lives to be able to portray them so beautifully. I think my favorite story was “Dear Sister”, but the whole book was amazing and I definitely recommend it.
Pet of the Week
I saw this TikTok of a guy who holds a weekly ceremony in which all of his pets get a treat, but the pet of the week (aka the one with the best behavior) gets their treat first. And we’ve been unofficially doing it in our household ever since.
This week that award goes to *drum roll* ELLIE!
Ellie never gets pet of the week. She isn’t a bad kitty per se, but she isn’t usually on her p’s and q’s. She’s been very cuddly this week and taking naps with us like the sweet baby she is.
This week’s losers:
Izzy has been scratching at the new couch like her life depends on it and screaming at us for our food nearly every meal.
And Phoenix killed a bird on our walk AND barked at a 3-year-old at the park which made him cry AND tried to start a dog fight. So clearly Phoenix had the worst behavior. And yes she killed a bird! We were on a walk when suddenly grabbed it. It was sitting under a tree. She just bit it but that was enough, the poor robin fledgling did not make it. It was traumatizing. In fact, Phoenix’s behavior was so atrocious this week that she’s out of the running for next week too.
Okay, I think this first edition is long enough and I should save some thoughts for next week. You can reply to this email or comment on this post if you want to share your thoughts because I’d love to hear them!
See y’all then!
Miranda