The most daunting feeling is staring at an empty page. That’s when I notice my dreaded perfectionist tendencies kicking in the most. Not knowing where to start, worried about having to say the most perfect, profound eloquent thing. It’s such a roadblock. So I have decided to simply jump into it, to rebel in the face of perfectionism, to tackle the paralyzing inertia by just writing to first paragraph (there, I did. Now, what?)

This is probably as good a time as any to introduce this blog. While it’s still taking shape and I’m not exactly sure what that shape will look like, something was gnawing at me and encouraging me to create. I don’t pretend to be an expert and I certainly don’t have all of the answers. In fact, I feel like over the years, I’ve only been garnering more questions, but I feel like that shouldn’t prevent us from creating. I can’t create writing without including that part of myself: the social worker, just like I couldn’t create a social work blog without including my queerness, my femininity, my humour, my softness, my imperfections, my experiences, my values, my ignorance, my questions, my curiosities.

The world feels heavy right now. Life is messy and things can feel so disconnected and disjointed at times. When I stop to think about it too much or for too long, I feel overwhelmed. Working in the world that I do, holding hope can be challenging. In a time when sharp jabs of internet comments contribute to a larger cultural climate of oppression and injustice, I think the world needs a lens of compassion and empathy. I am a big believer in having spaces of community, whether real or virtual, to create meaning. I am hoping that this blog can be one of those many spaces. Whether you are a fellow professional, personal friend, community-minded person, someone interested in some of the topics discussed, or someone browsing out of curiosity, my hope is that this can be a space to learn from one another, expand our perspectives, pose important questions, challenge ourselves, unpack our privilege, and find community as we navigate our own humanity.