Community

Find it in all corners.

Community. That is what all folks need right now. We thrive when we are together. We can mourn together. We know how our community feels and it’s important that we tend to our community. Self-care is a community effort just as much as it is a personal effort. Self-care is making sure you and your community can find meaning in the morning. Making sure the community doesn’t crumble in on itself. Finding hope wherever possible. Communities are a refuge for many of us.

For me, it is with my Queer Resource Center on campus. Though I don’t talk to folks in here, it still makes me feel good that there is a center here for people like me; openly queer or closeted, it doesn’t matter. We band together and find solace in our shared space. They can’t take our community spaces from us, no matter how hard they try.

Think back to when Paris Is Burning was released. That documentary tells the story of underground ballroom culture and gay folks and transgender folks getting to be loud and proud with those who love them. It shows that community spaces are key to maintaining a state of peace of mind. Never lose that. Never let them take that away.