RE: Bell Let’s Talk Day

TW: racism, mental health

These are some photos of peaceful vistas I took when I was unwell. They remind me how much I craved calm and how far I have come.

When I experienced my mental health emergency, the White administrators and professors at my university did not see my plight as a mental health issue, but rather, as disruptive behaviour that was subject to a series of disciplinary meetings. Meeting after meeting, my capacity to be successful in the program was questioned and interrogated. Throughout that experience, I sought out counselling services which quickly became ill-equipped to handle my condition. They did not connect me with the critical medical care that I deeply required. Instead, they took diligent notes about my deteriorating condition and failed to act in an effort to silence what could have been a problematic PR issue.

Happy to be sharing my research at the first Doctoral Special Seminar Topic (DSST) on Community Music Therapy of Laurier’s inaugural PhD in music program. Yesterday, I spoke about KW Sentro’s operations and outlined the 8 chapters of my manuscript-based dissertation. Looking forward to dialoguing with my colleagues and experts in the field.

An email I sent to the President, Interim Vice President of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and the Convocation Team of Wilfrid Laurier University providing feedback about my convocation ceremony on October 13, 2023

My decolonizing work, research, and practice has been undoubtedly and deeply impacted by Paulo Freire’s work. Back in 2016, when I first checked out Pedagogy of the Oppressed from my school’s library, I was weary from the compounding effects of racism, discrimination, and White supremacy at the conservative university institution I attended in Atlantic Canada. I was searching for answers, a language, and a framework to articulate my experiences that I have felt for my entire life but lacked the ability to describe. Freire provided this lexicon.

In the summer, as I thought about wearing traditional Filipino garments and cultural items to my fall convocation, I emailed the convocation team at my school to seek their approval to wear these items. I was aware of the school’s rigid protocols and policies prohibiting the use of cultural items at the ceremony but I reached out as a courtesy. I did not want to cause a fuss at the ceremony.

My research into race, White supremacy, and social justice in community music and music education has opened many doors for me. I’m regularly invited to serve on committees, give lectures, and other activities where my lived experience is valued and may aid individuals who are on their own journeys of unlearning racist or colonized predisposition. Even though this kind of exposure is beneficial to my career prospects, the personal consequences are costly…

Photo location: Niagara-On-The-Lake (September, 2023)