Still Here

Those of you who follow this blog know it is not unusual for me to disappear when school begins.  However, my layoff has been significantly longer  this year.  Part of it has been due to some personal upheaval (we all know that tends to be exhausting and time-consuming).   My life, however, has not been devoid of new projects.

To begin with, I became a member of the Board of Directors of the Daniel Trust Foundation. Daniel is a child survivor of the Rwandan Genocide who witnessed his mother’s death and lost his father and several siblings to the murderous brutality of the Hutu Interhamwe militia.  After escaping Rwanda, he lived in other parts of Africa before a family member brought him to Bridgeport, Connecticut.  He learned English, graduated high school, and attended Southern Connecticut State University.  While a sophomore in college, he made the decision to come out and became an LGBT rights activist.  Daniel would have every reason to be bitter and sullen but instead is an extremely upbeat, kind and generous young man.  It is for this reason that he chose to create the Daniel Trust Foundation, which provides scholarships to high school seniors involved in bettering their communities, the teachers that inspire them, as well as a mentoring program for high school students.  It is a great organization, and I am so thrilled to be on the ground floor to help build it into a something that lasts and supports students for years.  I also love working with Daniel, who inspires me in more ways than I can name.

A Facebook banner I displayed with pride in honor of Daniel’s courage and important work.

In addition, I wrote my very first two act play this January whilst on a writing retreat at Mercy Center in Madison, Connecticut. I was there for a three-day weekend, and wrote a 60 page first draft. While it still has a way to, I am very pleased with the results and look to begin workshopping it this spring. It is entitled “Invincible Summer,” and is the story of young man diagnosed with Parkinson’s and his relationship with the older patient that mentors him. As you can imagine, it is intensely personal to me.

The beach at Mercy Center, an ideal location for a writing retreat.

And, if you missed it, I had an article entitled “On Storytelling” appear in the very first issue of “The Book Club,” on online magazine about reading and writing. I was honored to be asked, and am grateful for the invitation from the awesome Rubina Ramesh.

So that’s what I have been up to, and why I’ve been neglecting this blog. But I have a story from last July I need to finish telling, so I will be posting again later. As in today. No, seriously.