BIPOC Don’t Have All the Answers
My name is Laisa Barros. I am immunocompromised.
COVID-19 reminds me that death is closer than I thought.
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My husband had my first kiss when I was 20 years old.
We were in the car and I said, “Close your eyes!” He was confused. I kissed him. “Eww!” I thought.
Just because everything may seem like rainbow and butterflies in the beginning, it doesn’t mean you can’t work on your relationships.
Respect each other’s boundaries without expectations. That’s the best advice I can give you to move forward in your personal and professional life.
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I have experienced many things:
- I have tolerated systemic racism all my life
- I was strangled by my elementary school teacher
- I was told that I was insane based on the stories I share
- I tolerated sexual harassment and microaggressions EVERYWHERE
- I have PTSD from a location in NYC from witnessing rape
- I have been an emotional abuse survivor all my life
- My godfather’s son (family to me) was shot in the face. I got the news right before one of my job interviews. I stopped applying.
- I was unemployed for 3 months after graduating college
- I was homeless for 9 days
- I have experienced many more…
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Safe Space discussions at Pixar are exhausting for me to explain what I have been through and that Systemic Racism and Sexism are real. Therefore, I have written it as concise as I could. I know you will still be confused but at least I tried.
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Stop waiting for a leader to guide you. You are the leader of your own life choices. That’s the only thing you can control.
Because of my endless experiences of suffering, I have chosen to put a smile on my face and lift those around me.
I don’t care about DYING. UNEMPLOYMENT. HOMELESSNESS.
Because I have lived it all.
“Don’t judge if you don’t want to be judged.”
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Learn how to tackle hate with love. Learn who you are as an individual, only then you will be able to move forward.
Hate + Silence = Hate
Hate + Hate = Hate
Hate + Voice = Action
Hate + Love = Action
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My written work is part of me. Don’t tell me to shut up.
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BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:
“So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo
“Things Are What You Make of Them: Life Advice for Creatives” by Adam J. Kurtz
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