I'm alive, but how much of me is part of this. My very existence--along with the existence of my work--is a radical act of fragile survival and joy within defiance. Intimacy, desire, violence, loss, love, community, and power are all parts of the same whole and it's up to us to decide how they drive us towards a more equitable and liberated state of being.
 
The personal and intimate is political. As we move forward in our path through revolution and societal unrest we must keep in mind the ways that power structures we inhabit influence the ways in which we relate to ourselves and all others around us. In building a new world of healing, we must acknowledge this and do our best to build from the hurts that have infiltrated our daily lives while uplifting those around us.

— Maria Joranko