A Bit of an Introduction

This is the first article for Feral & Flourishing, so I am taking a moment to make introductions. 

Normally I’d give you my name, but identity and gender are complicated for me and I haven’t figured out what name I’m going to use just yet. So I guess I’ll attempt introductions without a name. I am the creator of this chaos conglomerate. I am queer, neurodivergent, American and melanin deficient. I have never in my life felt like I fit in and in many ways it became more challenging later in life, especially post-motherhood. I come from generation after generation of trauma, child abuse and dancing on the poverty line. I grew up mainly in the rural Midwest, which hasn’t been the best fit for me. However, it’s cheap and it has been hard to relocate myself and my small family when everywhere else is more expensive. 

I thought it would become easier after I went back to school in my 30’s, but as it turns out my bachelor’s in business was chosen by my mask and designed for my mask. After the pandemic broke my mask, I’m now stuck with a degree that doesn’t feel at all like me. So this is me trying to find a place for me in this world that keeps me and my sons fed and flourishing. I’m also hoping to help others pull themselves out of the system that seems to thrive off of keeping us silent and heavily medicated. We’re better than this. We deserve a place in this world that doesn’t require us to shrink or become something we’re not. We are not damaged goods. We are not less than. We are amazing in our own ways that deserve to be seen and honored.

Feral & Flourishing is a website designed to create a safe space and community for those of us that feel unable or unwilling to blend into the social constructs that exist in our society. I speak from the perspective of an American, queer, neurodivergent individual, but there are so many ways in which someone might feel that our society does not represent or accept them. People of color, those that are LGBTQIA, the disabled, any type of artist, etc, etc. It’s a problem that has pushed me into severe depression and made me feel like giving up. Thankfully, due to the pandemic and TikTok I’ve learned that there are a whole lot of us that have felt like giving up and that cannot happen. We are a lot of what adds spice to this world, and no one wants a world without flavor or spice. 

So this is my rebel cry to weirdos like me to come together. Let’s connect and learn a few new tricks together to help us thrive authentically. What better way to rebel in this narrow-minded society than to flourish and refuse to be anything other than our true feral selves?