💅🏼📚✨🎀

I have so much love and gratitude for my cosmetology teacher Mrs. LaShone Blue, as well as my manicuring cohort (Brandy, Chassity, Lauren, and Valeria). They cultivated a space that moved me to reignite my creativity after years of feeling artistically repressed and uninspired. Chicas, I’ll forever be nostalgic for all the long nights spent together practicing our craft. I also want to acknowledge Kiki Taylor for paving the way for nail artistry here in Durham, NC — I feel so lucky to have been able to learn from her, & her Kiki-isms still live in my mind rent-free (:

🌿🌺🍄🪴

I would like to thank Dr. Tomas Enos & the beloved Will Endres for helping me nourish, maintain, and deepen my relationships with the plants of the Chihuahuan Desert and Appalachia, respectively. This acknowledgment would be incomplete without thanking the plants themselves, as they are my teachers also.

⚫️🦋🪶🪙

I want to express immense gratitude and respect for Maestra Dr. Lisa Martinez & Maestro Dr. Samuel Nez, who have granted my heart’s deepest wish by allowing me to be a part of Calli Tecpactl. Both of their teachings have been such potent medicine for me along my journey of personal healing. Now until forever, I’ll be so thankful to Maestra Lisa, Maestro Samuel, & our kalpulli for sharing with me their wisdom, stories, and laughter along the way.

🕯️🌹🃏🧼

I'm so grateful for Kaitlyn Graña, Mother of Mystics! Kaitlyn's mentorship has helped me overcome the fear and embrace the responsibilities associated with my energetic sensitivity (i.e. spiritual gifts). Over the years, Kaitlyn has equipped me with so many practical tools and resources to deepen the ways I live in communion, and I’ll be continuing to integrate what I’ve learned from them for years to come. I highly recommend Kaitlyn to anyone who could benefit from having the energy of a truly loving mother support them as they develop their unique intuitive skills.

🕷️🕸️ 🗺️ 🐆

I want to thank B. Stacey Villalobos for encouraging me to integrate the symbolism and energies within my dreams into my creative practices. Ever since taking their Recordar y Recopilar class and committing to this integration, my understanding of how emotional energy illustrates itself through symbol has deepened significantly. Additionally, I have infinite gratitude for Maestro Noé L’herisse y Maestra Cleofás Reyes of Calea Flora for creating an international home for oneiric education (which is rooted in Indigenous wisdom). Over the years, Calea Flora’s courses and community have helped me expand my dreamwork in profound ways, and I find their research to be extensive and invaluable.

🚬🍃 ✨🪐

I'd like to acknowledge Luz Rios de Cordoba, as her teachings on astrology, divination, and medicinal plants have been foundational components of my spiritual and medicinal toolbox. Luz continues to inspire my rituals and deepen my knowledge on all kinds of spiritual & earthly topics to this day. One of my heart’s biggest wishes is to someday visit Luz and her family at Tambo Kocha~~~

🦜👁️🌀👣

I will always treasure my memories with Irene Pando, as she was the first person who showed me how we can obtain, transfer, and transform energy through our hands and feet. I hope to someday repay my debt of proper gratitude to her and her daughter Tania, who both taught me lessons that unfortunately took me years to fully embody. My experiences with each of them have taught me so much more since the last time I’ve had a chance to tell either of them.

🌀🍵🌲🔥

I would like to thank Li-Lan Hsiang Weiss for always encouraging me to take time to listen to my body and the earth. Li-Lan continues to be an inspiration to me in a multitude of ways, and I’m so grateful for her support along my journey to embrace my authenticity, my passions, and my life’s purposes.

🗣️🤟🏼☎️📝

I will be forever grateful to Adebola Desalu & Waithera Kinuthia, for teaching me the ASL variants of NC & NM (respectively). I will always treasure Bola in particular for all that she’s done to educate me about Deaf culture. I feel incredibly lucky that I’ve had opportunities to get to know some of the Deaf community. Speaking of languages — I also want to say tlaskamati to Tlamachtihketl Cuitlahuac Arreola Martinez, Tlamachtihketl Matt Olmos, and all of the other tlamachtianih wan momachtianih in the SpeakNahuatl community for helping me begin my journey of learning Nahuatlatolli. The gradual process of learning how to express myself without European language has been deeply transformative.

🦜🐒🧫🧬

This section would be incomplete without acknowledging Dr. Tim Wright, Dr. Osceola Whitney, Dr. Erina Hara, Dr. Barrett Klein, & especially Dr. Jenny Tung, for their incredible mentorship throughout my career in the sciences. The ritualistic nature of lab work was my gateway into the peace that can be obtained while carefully synchronizing my mind with my hands; I genuinely miss pipetting on a daily basis. I have learned so much from each of them while working with them on their research — not only in the sense of how to carefully reveal the inner workings of the natural world, but also how to communicate clearly, move major projects forward, and be a wise and compassionate leader. The experiences I’ve had working with each of them will continue to empower me throughout the rest of my life.

👓 📖💜🦄

I will never stop telling the tales of my very first teachers: my parents. While the lessons, skills, and gifts they have given me are numerous, right now I’d like to highlight that my father Vern was the first to show me how life can be enriched when I sharpen my mind, while my mother Yolanda was the first to show me how to expand my heart. The privilege of being born to two kind and gentle souls cannot be overstated.

❤️‍🔥⛵️🏔️🎧

My chosen family of friends is continuously enriching my life in so many ways, & I just wanna shoutout a few of them that I hold extra close, in the order that I came to know them: Edna Solis, Juliana Cuccaro Diaz, Sara Wehust, Keara Wright, Leslie Sebastian, Tina Del Carpio, Mari Shiratori, Sandra Gomez, Kelly Williams, Lee Nonnamaker, Brandy Whitley, EJ Rose, and Michelle Croft. Y’all keep my soul feeling seen, full, and nourished — no matter how much time or space will ever be between us ♥ 

🐱🪵💗🐍

A special shoutout to my lil Lotus from the lumberyard, AKA Lolo, Lo-Rider, L-Boogie, Dolores, Lololololo, Miss Lotus, Pretty Kitty, Mijita Bonita — the cat who has been taking care of me since 2011. I love her ♥ she always watches over me, guiding and comforting me in a multitude of ways. Also shoutout to the most headstrong snake I’ve ever met — St. Wadji Lucia — for reminding me to shed again and again.

🦇 🌘🩸😶‍🌫️

I want to express deep reverence to my spirits, guides, and muertitos. I can feel them surrounding me always, but especially during my highest highs and lowest lows. I can’t imagine my life without their guidance and protection. To Francesca, my guia principal — mil gracias por guiar mis manos.

⛰️🌲🌊 🍉

I would like to acknowledge the Eno, Lumbee, Catawba, and Shakori peoples – the original stewards of the land on which I am currently a settler (the ‘North Carolina Triangle’). I am forever indebted to Indigenous people here and all over the globe (including those in Gaza) who continue to show the world what it looks like to resist colonial occupation while being firmly rooted in love. In moments when resisting the imperialist empire feels futile, I look to you for wisdom, motivation, and strength. May Indigenous sovereignty be fully restored 🙏🏼