UNBECOMING

“Until a lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter.” -African Proverb I begin every semester by teaching narrative writing. I encourage my students to use their voice to speak their truth. Narrative writing allows us to reflect on past experience and the way it shaped who we have become. There is power in telling our story. We own it. Nobody can take that away from us. Recent events have highlighted the power of speaking our truth. Movements such as #metoo

“I like to walk around with bare feet and I don't like to comb my hair.” ― Beyoncé Knowles “Hair girl is booked. Guess I will go as myself to Thanksgiving gatherings.” “Well, I like yourself.” It is a good thing. If my husband’s love was contingent upon the state of my hair, I would be in trouble. Last week, a coworker told me she was ready to have a hair intervention. Another friend sent me a Facebook memory from three years ago. “I think you brushed your hair that day.” O

I am a writing teacher. Words are the tool of my trade. I help students learn how to transform their thoughts into coherent pieces of writing to reach their intended audience. It would only be natural that I am a keen observer of language. Much as a bird watcher can pick out a call or shade of feather, my eyes are drawn to typos or beautifully crafted prose. It should not come as a surprise that recently when my carpool partner mentioned the verbiage of the Girl Scout oath, I

“There’s a part of me that likes shoes, and likes dresses, and likes makeup, and likes books, and likes to write. I think that’s the case for many women. But our culture makes us think we have to choose slices of ourselves that we’re comfortable showing the world.” -Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie As often happens, our family dinner conversation took a strange turn. We were discussing cultural grooming practices. “Female shaving has been used historically to keep women in a visually