TSIB Authors

Poetry with Dinora: “Let Me Be Free”

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Poetry with Dinora: "Let Me Be Free"

there is something inside of me begging to come out
the little voice inside of me is bigger than i am
and instead of listening to it, i run away
i run away to secret places, libraries, book stores, coffee shops
anywhere to be away from my family who hover over my life,
over my choices,
over my mistakes.
i like to be left alone
don’t bother me unless it’s necessary
i am not anti-social
but maybe i am
it is hard to think, hard to write
when everyone wants to know about me
and i want to know nothing.
one day i’ll figure out
one day i won’t come back to the city that molded me
broke me
and loved me back again.
sometimes things don’t work out
and maybe i’m not meant to stay here forever
i’ll leave, i’ll leave
somewhere
anywhere
far, far away
where i won’t be found.

Poetry with Dinora: “Find a Way”

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Poetry with Dinora: "Find a Way"

they will break your heart too many times
and call you heartless
they want you to lose
but don’t let them
i know you are greater than that
you are not a catastrophe,
or a mistake
you are human
and all you want is to spread love to places
they tell you not to.
keep doing you
keep being brave
keep loving
and loving
and don’t give up.

INTERVIEW: Isabel Quintero, author of “Gabi, a Girl in Pieces”

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INTERVIEW: Isabel Quintero, author of "Gabi, a Girl in Pieces"

It’s a busy day at Augie’s coffee in Redlands. Amidst the crowd of people trying to get their morning coffee, a woman in pink hair stands out. This is Isabel Quintero, author of “Gabi, A Girl in Pieces.” Previously on The Strange is Beautiful, I wrote a book review on her novel and consider Gabi’s body image issues, living in a traditional Latino household and surviving high school as an authentic experience of what many teenagers face on a daily basis. We sat down to talk about her book, writing, mind obstacles and anything and everything in between.

13 Reasons Why is Triggering and Excludes POC’s Experience

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13 Reasons Why is Triggering and Excludes POC's Experience

Depression, suicide and anxiety have been around for a long time, yet the conversation hasn’t. The media often likes to portray stories of characters who go through depression or deal with bipolar disorder, or any other obstacle. They add a love interest to make the story more intriguing and sad if the end result is not in the characters favor. It’s usually white cisgender characters who portray these storylines. POC carry trauma in our DNA . POC ALSO GO THROUGH MIND OBSTACLES. With that being said, the one TV show that has gotten a lot of backlash has been 13 Reasons Why and I agree with the critics. The book itself was not as gory as the show and that is where the creators just went off tracks. I get that their idea was to open up the conversation but they pushed that into a whole new realm. Trigger warnings are not always useful. I watched the show, I did. There was a lot more wrong than right. You cannot love someone out of a mind obstacle Clay Jensen. And I’m here to say that it was difficult to watch the last two episodes and I was triggered. As someone who has gone through depression, you can’t help but think in the back of your head , “that could have been me.” We cannot allows ourselves to believe that our obstacles should be the one thing that keeps us from moving forward. It’s hard work, I know, but every day is the day you get stronger.