I am a writer, which means I feel a compulsion to distill my reality into words. The things that matter most to me, the things I find myself writing about, are food, love, and justice.

Quality food is important to me. I grew up valuing homemade food. I often make my own bread. When I first began baking, I was terrible at it. I threw yeast, flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl with water and oil and hoped for the best. The product was far too dense, doughy in the middle, and barely edible. But I knew homemade bread was supposed to taste good! So I tried again, this time following directions. I realized I the order mattered, I realized the amount of time spent kneading mattered, and I realized I could leave the bread in the oven a lot longer than I'd previously thought. The result of properly made bread is a soft, spongy, completed baked loaf. It might take a little longer than going to the store, but eating fresh, homemade bread is always worth the effort.

Not only do I enjoy eating food, but I enjoy sharing it with loved ones. Food is one of the best ways to show love. Love is important to me because human beings are social creatures. When we are connected to others in a healthy way, when we feel loved and love others, is when we are best. Love is making plans to visit your sister. Love is doing the dishes when your partner is sick. Love is taking care of your own needs so that you can be your best self. Love is valuing the planet and other people, even when you do not know them personally.

Although it is normal to focus on one's own intimate circle of friends and family, it's important to look beyond just that! If I care about food and love, then I naturally care about ensuring everyone receives those things. I care about justice. In our society, many people lack food and love. There are too many forms of injustice to list all of them, so I will simply discuss a few things that bother me. I hate food insecurity and I wish everyone could eat. I hate domestic violence and I wish everyone could feel safe and respected in their own homes. I hate our climate catastrophe and I wish we could come together to build sustainable future for all.

I am hopeful. I think if we all work together we can improve our situation. From my perspective, food, love, and justice will always be challenges. But there will always be people working to improve them. I write about these things in my poetry and I bring these values to my work. No matter what I do, at my core I am working to promote these three things. At my core, I care about food, love, and justice.