Posts Tagged ‘Community’
2020: Storytelling, Conga Drums, and Emotional Wellness
I didn’t set out to become an author. When I first began writing about my identity, I wanted a deeper understanding of where I was from, who I was then, and who I am now. I did not know it at the time, but writing memoir is a form of therapy, a way to put…
Read MoreRoom for Me
I never knew I was black until I came to Miami. I had spent most of my childhood in Haiti, in a community that was already made for me and people like me. Though I understood there were social classes that dictated my place in society, I was comfortable knowing where I belonged. But when…
Read MoreYou Are Your Network: Neuroscience and the Need to Belong
Did you know that our social lives define our sense of self? In other words, when we think about who we are, we tend to think in terms of our membership in a group. Does this sound counterintuitive? After all, we know humans are social beings. We know we gain physical and emotional benefits from…
Read More“Where in Africa are you from?”
The following is excerpted from Twelve Unending Summers: Memoir of an Immigrant Child: Years ago, when I was doing my residency in Chicago, I was making my way through the hospital cafeteria when a tall, slender, white attending physician approached. He looked me up and down, almost as though in resignation. “Where in Africa are you…
Read MoreUnder the Coconut Tree
The following is excerpted from Twelve Unending Summers: Memoir of an Immigrant Child: One warm morning in La Rivière des Nègres, my dad took me to the northwest side of the house and showed me four coconut trees. Given their size, I thought they must have been planted about six to eight months earlier. “One of…
Read MoreTaking Charge of Conflict: 4 Ways to Start from Within
Do you feel society is becoming more divisive than ever? Are you tired of conflict souring the mood at home or in the workplace? Neuroscience sheds light on why conflict goes hand in hand with the human experience—and what we can do about it. Because human beings have emotions, we act and react in ways…
Read MoreSoccer Players and the Adventures of Tarzan: My Life in Libraries
Even as a child, I have always been curious, drawn to learning about the world around me. Possibly because I was born outside Haiti—I came from the outside, so I was constantly aware of a world beyond my community and home. At my elementary school, my French and Canadian instructors exposed me to other worlds…
Read MoreBeing Connected: How Living in a Diverse Community Can Change Your Life
In today’s interconnected, interdependent world, we don’t exist alone in our families and communities. Life is globalized: Our food is influenced by diverse cultures, our clothing and household goods are produced or sourced from other areas, and our finances are affected by global markets. Even our vocabulary is imported. And that makes it all the…
Read More