Familia y Sangre
Growing up I was told that mi familia y mi sangre were the number one priorities in life. Obediently, I learned to put above all else the ones who were supposed to be there, to love, to empower, and to set the foundation for a life of your own in the way YOU define success. Now I know that's a fairy tale for too many of us - when all of that seems too good to be true, when all of that seems more like fiction than fact. ¡Que rico es soñar! But what happens when your blood is the one that hurts you? What happens when the deny you? And what happens when they oppress you? On the one hand, I understand the complicity of nuestra gente in these systems that produce our struggles, but on the other hand - cuando llegará la revolución if we keep hurting each other?
How many times have I dreaded "celebrations" when in reality, my reality, was just a “happy” occasion disguised as a time bomb waiting to blow up. Tick. Tick. Tick. In fact, it was just another time to scream, cry and hate. Tick. Tick. BOOM! Somos familia they would say, as if that was reason enough. We are family they would say, as if that was excuse enough for all the violence, the trauma, the hate. But what's in a name? Familia. Sangre. I don't want the definition of a cookie cutter family - the nuclear happy bullshit image we get fed on the daily. Mi familia, my chosen family needs no blood line but compassion, love and support. Family. Blood. Sangre. Familia. Mi familia es quien se lo merece.
Family is a structure, but how it is shaped is up to you. Chose your siblings, your parental figures, your relations whether by blood or by their kindred spirit and when you do, do it as an act of undeniable love to yourself. When I finally realized that I didn't have to be shackled by one definition of mi familia, I was set free.
How many times have I dreaded "celebrations" when in reality, my reality, was just a “happy” occasion disguised as a time bomb waiting to blow up. Tick. Tick. Tick. In fact, it was just another time to scream, cry and hate. Tick. Tick. BOOM! Somos familia they would say, as if that was reason enough. We are family they would say, as if that was excuse enough for all the violence, the trauma, the hate. But what's in a name? Familia. Sangre. I don't want the definition of a cookie cutter family - the nuclear happy bullshit image we get fed on the daily. Mi familia, my chosen family needs no blood line but compassion, love and support. Family. Blood. Sangre. Familia. Mi familia es quien se lo merece.
Family is a structure, but how it is shaped is up to you. Chose your siblings, your parental figures, your relations whether by blood or by their kindred spirit and when you do, do it as an act of undeniable love to yourself. When I finally realized that I didn't have to be shackled by one definition of mi familia, I was set free.