Dear AllY, Growing up, I wanted to be a gypsy. Young Heather romanticized the idea of picking up and moving about, meeting new people, and learning new things. What can I say, I am an observer of the human experience! And while I have had my fair share of adventures, there came a time to … Read More
Dear AllY, My late grandmother, Betty, lived with us for a time. I vividly remember her smoking cigarettes and ironing towels while watching soap operas. Grandma Betty was ambidextrous, but she was born left-handed. She shared stories of getting her left hand slapped by teachers until she was retrained to be ambidextrous. Her left-hand preference … Read More
September 27, 2023. Be a Forrest Gump: Refusing to Let Your Fears Stop You!! In the movie Forrest Gump, the main character attempted all sorts of activities despite having an IQ of 75 (referenced in the movie). Quite possibly, his low IQ didn’t enable him to strategically think things through, but one could argue that is … Read More
Gentrification has been defined as “a process in which a poor area (as of a city) experiences an influx of middle-class or wealthy people who renovate and rebuild homes and businesses and which often results in an increase in property values and the displacement of earlier, usually poorer residents.” Today’s patterns of gentrification have deep, … Read More
Dear AllY, While we are currently coming out of a fevered interest in addressing sociocultural inequalities, the need to address the attitudes and conditions which persist around the topic of race remain. Ever since I have been both conscience and conscious, some of my experiences have been shaped by the stigmas surrounding race and social … Read More