Meditation: Walking Away To Collaboratively Create Exceptions

Recently I met a group of graduate students. I stood huddled in the corner with two women of color. They asked me how I survived the academy. They did not use the word “survive” but through a series of looks and gestures I understood this as what they meant. They also did not mention my race and gender, but that is often the subtext. How does someone like you survive the academy? While I do not know that I am surviving, I would say that I have learned to walk away from that which depletes me and toward what sustains.