Two years ago today, everyone was holding their breath. Some people were actively brainstorming ways to help, while some were not-so-patiently waiting for an update. Right about now, in the still early AM, when people should have been arriving at work… my sister, Stephanie, was sending a quiet message to a Facebook Messenger group with … More Watch Me: A Splat Day Story
On the ride to work this morning, I heard a song. I’m sure I’ve heard it before in the background somewhere, but this is the first time that I’ve heard it. If it were sung by a woman, I would have cringed. It was, though, sung by a well-known Muslim male musician. This song earns … More The Big Cringe: The Veil
Picture this: It’s Saturday night at your boyfriend’s friends’ house. You’re a huge Star Wars geek, and you participate in an international (light)saber fighting organization. One of the friends says they just got Beat Saber, and you’re every bit as jazzed to play as the rest of the people in the room. Now, picture this: … More Disabling Virtual Reality
Over the past year and a half, I’ve had a lot of eye-opening experiences in the world of disability. It makes me realize the privilege I’ve held the majority of my life in not realizing how many hoops there are to jump through, and where jumping through those hoops is still easier for me than … More The Process of Disability: DDOT Style
This weekend, Detroit hosted the third The Untokening conference (the first two were in Atlanta and Los Angeles). The short description of The Untokening is “a multiracial collective committed to the ongoing process of centering the realities of the most marginalized communities in mobility advocacy, policy, and planning.” How are these marginalized communities identified? Race, … More Making Activism Accessible
One year ago today, I was discharged. I could finally go out into the world again – go back to my activities, work, get my master’s degree, and see my friends! Sounds simple, right? For those of you who don’t know, I was quite literally run over by a Mack truck. As in, I actually … More Freedom and Mobility
I’ve lived in Metro-Detroit my whole life. I work downtown. I spend the vast majority of my time in the stretch of I94 between Hamtramck and Dearborn. I consider myself to be an advocate of public transportation, and simultaneously despise driving for a plethora of other reasons. I’ve objectively known*1 that public transportation in Detroit … More Amanda Takes the Bus
There’s a well-known statistic from Dr Ba-Yunus that states 75% of converts to Islam leave within the first 5 years. There’s some skepticism around how that statistic came about, or how accurate it is ~10 years later, in addition to the fact that the original video footage containing the statistic has been erased from the … More I’m not a statistic…
In 10 days, I’m going to tell you a story. It’s a personal story, and I’m only going to tell in full form once. I’d love it if you shared this blog in anticipation. Can I get 10 additional followers in 10 days? I’ll give you a hint: it has to do with an anniversary.
Yesterday, I was sitting with the Syrian family I posted about last week.They still don’t have their SNAP card, and really it probably will be another two weeks before they get it. We were having coffee, and everyone is sitting around pointing at thing to practice the English (esp. American accent). I told the mom … More Grocery Shopping (Refugee Stories)
