i like swimming and napping. i hate being cold more than anything in the world.

i studied community-based social work practice and now work as a case manager at a wonderful nonprofit downtown. while my job is crazy/overwhelming/stressful, i love it and could not imagine doing anything else. i am fulfilled and happy and doing just what i want to be doing.
i love to think about the ways in which traditional social work ethics are not conducive to community organizing and creating social change. if you want to hear more about this, i will be happy to talk your ear off about it.
i am especially interested in radical, structural social work and view individual problems [i.e., homelessness] as symptoms of greater oppressive systems & structures [i.e., a totally fucked foster care system that doesn't support aged-out youth].

i think that language is far more powerful than most people acknowledge and that we can change a lot by changing the way that we talk/think about ourselves and others.

i am not actually this serious.

fun stuff i like:
boyz on bikes, DIY-ers, midwestern expatriates, awkward folks who are still able to carry on conversation, mixtape traders, people who identify as radical rather than liberal, boys who cook me dinner, people who send real mail to their friends and family, anyone down to bike to the bins, baristas who give me free coffee.

i still have the mixtape that my best friend made me for my 15th birthday and it's still awesome.

sitting in the park. getting friendship tattoos. bumping in to things. trying to keep secrets. going to the library. riding my bicycle. exploring abandoned buildings. having inappropriate crushes. creating awkward situations. being so in love with my friends. underpants dancing. watching bad 90s movies. writing letters. taking naps. having a one-person andrew wk dance party.

using hyperbole.
getting super excited when it's waffle day at sweetpea.
also: injuring myself in embarrassing ways.

i get a lot of compliments on my smile, which is weird because i am very self-conscious about my teeth.

books: audre lourde, bell hooks, virginia woolf, irvine welsh, aldous huxley, richard wright, david sedaris, dave eggers.

tv: the wire & six feet under.

food: vegan, spicy, food carts.

music: mixtapes. funk. rrrap. slow jams. hip hop. old country. alt-country. country punk. anything in french.

bicycle, coffee, badass ladyfriends, the #1 homeys, miss little lady annie junior herself, the library.

your mom.

out-n-about with great friends, trying to make you dance.

either that, or i'm at home reading and watching movies and cuddling with my cat.

i have a pauly shore tattoo.

you think it's cool that i have a pauly shore tattoo.