When I moved to New Mexico, one draw for me was changing my way of life. Moving from Chicago, I saw my move as an opportunity to learn another side of myself and explore natural, non-urbanized settings. I felt that this move would provide the space for me to connect with myself mentally, emotionally, physically, …
Remembering the Joy of the Doctoral Journey
It's fall of 2005, and I sat around my grandmother's kitchen table with two of my aunts. The kitchen table is where my family normally engages in conversation by telling jokes, sharing stories, or giving their opinion on current news, especially when we haven't seen each other for some time. Unlike other kitchen table talks where the …
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My Relationship with Anxi (aka Anxiety)
Anxi (aka Anxiety) and I have had a turbulent relationship. I thought we had broken up until I started my doctoral program about 3 years ago. After years of separation, Anxi decided it wanted to mend our relationship during my second semester. In the winter/spring of 2016, I found myself on the verge of panic …
Listening to My Voice & to Others
"I don't know what to focus on [for my dissertation]. When I talk to one person, they tell me I should study this. And when I talk to another person, they tell me I should focus on something different." - doctoral colleague These are words spoken by another doctoral student during a conversation we were having …
Being the Intersection
Each day, my goal is to live in the flow of my life and honor the dimensionality of my being. This can be tricky, in many ways. One dynamic of this "trickiness" is defining how to live in the space of my intersectionality as a Black woman. Despite the fact that Black women and other women of …
Amanda LaTasha 