We are here for a good time, not a long time

From the city of Detroit, Michigan, I grew up around a plethora of experiences including navigating the hood and the suburbs. I watched as individuals close to me chose survival every day, having to hustle for their next meal and praying for their next blessing. This was a place where thriving was intertwined in materialistic gain because we had to prove we weren’t underdogs or “products of the environment.” Early on, I learned that being quick on your feet, having critical thinking skills, well thought out responses, and quick decisiveness was a requirement to make it through the spaces I occupied. I watched members of my family experience destruction due to limitations; no access to food, financial insecurity, substance abuse, fear, confusion and using love as a radical tool to thrive. Then I learned these experiences were not exclusive to my family or my neighborhoods. These experiences were happening to communities of culture across the landscape of America and around the world. I witnessed the deterioration of school systems, homes in low-income communities, a lack of access to health care, public safety services and grocery stores. It baffled me as a child to see unhoused individuals being ignored, denied basic...