#wehavequestions

[isolationship-journal]

Q4, Hakeem + OCPL TAB: What is success and what are you willing to sacrifice for it?

A4, Ginger:

i find out that it’s Reubens’ birthday today (Peter Paul) & i wonder if there is a calendar out there with all the birthdays of all the Greats for someone to celebrate year-round, but human memory only holds 365 in cupped palms before it spills, & one day the Renaissance will be forgotten in favor of the achievements of the 2050’s, or the geniuses of the 3100’s, or the last violin solo played before the end of the world, i wonder where the last poem will be written before the big crunch or the heat death of the universe, i wonder who will write it.

Submission by Ginger C, 21, of San Francisco , California, USA for We Have Questions on Isolationship-Journal in answer to Question 4: "What is success and what are you willing to sacrifice for it?" asked by young adult artists from Orange County Library's Teen Advisory Board + recent NC A&T grad, Hakeem Shabazz-Norris.  Q4 is inspired by a recent video roundtable hosted by the Alliance Youth Media Network with 2020 students and graduates discussing about their experiences and outlook on the future. Learn more about the We Have Questions creative project, the video roundtable, and the Alliance Youth Media Network at isolationship-journal.tumblr.com

[isolationship-journal]

Q2, YouthUnmuted: What is "choice" and how would we be living our lives now if we had changed anything in the past?

A2, Maddie: To me, choice is power. The power to write your own story. It’s taking a chance sometimes, too. I’m a firm believer in the idea that everything happens for reason, so I think that changing one thing could completely alter where you are today. Little decisions can be connected to big ones; in the moment, you have no idea how they are connected. I use college as an example because when I made the choice to come here, I unknowingly made the choice to meet all my now best friends and have all these amazing experiences. If I chose a different school, then I never would have met these people or fallen in love with this town.

Submission by Maddie R, 20, of San Luis Obispo, California, USA for We Have Questions on Isolationship-Journal in answer to Question 2: "What is "choice" and how would we be living our lives now if we had changed anything in the past?" asked by young adult artists from YouthUnmuted. Q2 is inspired by their accessible, audiovisual podcast, Now You Hear Us, which examines life in refugee camps and host communities from the perspective of young people. Learn more about the We Have Questions creative project, YouthUnmuted, and this question's topic at isolationship-journal.tumblr.com

[isolationship-journal]

Q2, YouthUnmuted: What is "choice" and how would we be living our lives now if we had changed anything in the past?

A2, Kate: The first time I read this question I was instantly reminded of Robert Frost's "Road Not Taken." The common interpretation of this poem is a very packaged idea about individualism that translates today into a classic Americana propaganda. But the truer interpretation of Frost's words has as one commentator put it "a wolf in sheep's clothing effect" where the narrator knows that the two paths were equal but comforts himself with the deception that one was less traveled and that walking that path is what led him to where he was. To me this speaks a lot to how we think about choice. Is there really ever one point where you can look back on something and pinpoint it as the moment where everything changed? Or do we look back on those chosen moments as a way to comfort and fortify ourselves when we are facing the idea that we have no control over what happens to us? Choice is about having the freedom to make a decision, but if no such freedom exists, then there can be no choice. So when we lack that freedom, or do not see that we have it, we go back and we construct an idea of how our lives have gone as a source of comfort, whether those ideas are real or not. The paths in Frost's poem were equally worn, but the narrator felt lost and out of control because he had no idea what would happen, so he constructs a false idea of his own reality to soothe himself about his own insecurities. We don't want to stop and ruminate over how our lives could be different if we had chosen something else because it is uncomfortable and often portrays oneself in an unkind light. So we tell ourselves that it's okay, that that one random decision is what led us to who we are today. But in reality, did we ever really have a choice in the matter?

  Submission by Kate B, 15, of North Carolina, USA for We Have Questions on Isolationship-Journal in answer to Question 2: "What is "choice" and how would we be living our lives now if we had changed anything in the past?" asked by young adult artists from YouthUnmuted. Q2 is inspired by their accessible, audiovisual podcast, Now You Hear Us, which examines life in refugee camps and host communities from the perspective of young people. Learn more about the We Have Questions creative project, YouthUnmuted, and this question's topic at isolationship-journal.tumblr.com

[isolationship-journal]

Q1, Breaktide Productions: What is sacred, and how do you defend it?

A1, A’Zaria:

Sitting with my legs crossed, shoulders back, spine straight and eyes closed

Listening to the wind, the birds, the bees

I inhale deeply getting in tune with my intuition

Exhaling deeply to relax my mind and body

After taking two more deep breathes I can smell the sage lingering through the atmosphere

Cleansing and healing

Feeling the pressure of the crystals in the palms of my hands

Protecting and defending

Feeling, thinking and speaking unconditional love onto everyone and everything

Because without love and positivity, the sacredness of my energy will never be

 Submission by A’Zaria K, 19, of Richmond, CA, USA for We Have Questions on Isolationship-Journal in answer to Question 1: "What is Sacred and how do you protect it?" asked by Breaktide Productions and inspired by Protectors of Mauna Kea. Learn more about the We Have Questions creative project and this question's topic at isolationship-journal.tumblr.com

[isolationship-journal]

Q1, Breaktide Productions: What is sacred, and how do you defend it?

A1, Nyree: innocence. I protect it by making things such as books and drawings to make children happy

Submission by Nyree M, 19, of Richmond, CA, USA for We Have Questions on Isolationship-Journal in answer to Question 1: "What is Sacred and how do you protect it?" asked by Breaktide Productions and inspired by Protectors of Mauna Kea. Learn more about the We Have Questions creative project and this question's topic at isolationship-journal.tumblr.com

[isolationship-journal]

Q1, Breaktide Productions: What is sacred, and how do you defend it?

A1, Tearra:

An icy home is what I love.

My books couldn't agree more.

They bring to life the knowledge and thoughts of others. I learn from them, and in return, I cherish and protect them. We live in a union. For what are they but scraps of paper with a nonexistent value.

Submission by Tearra B, 20, of Pleasant Hill, CA, USA for We Have Questions on Isolationship-Journal in answer to Question 1: "What is Sacred and how do you protect it?" asked by Breaktide Productions and inspired by Protectors of Mauna Kea. Learn more about the We Have Questions creative project and this question's topic at isolationship-journal.tumblr.com

[isolationship-journal]

Q1, Breaktide Productions: What is sacred, and how do you defend it?

A1, Maddie: My definition of sacred is shown in the attached picture though the beauty of secluded nature and through the specific location of the photo, Sea Ranch, CA, a place really special to my family. Because nature is sacred to me, especially the little hidden gems like this spot in Sea Ranch, I protect it through respect and admiration for the wonders of the natural world.

Submission by Maddie R, 20, of San Luis Obispo, CA, USA for We Have Questions on Isolationship-Journal in answer to Question 1: "What is Sacred and how do you protect it?" asked by Breaktide Productions and inspired by Protectors of Mauna Kea. Learn more about the We Have Questions creative project and this question's topic at isolationship-journal.tumblr.com

[isolationship-journal]

Q1, Breaktide Productions: What is sacred, and how do you defend it?

A1, Lyndsey:

It starts with a seed

A sapling with truth

Filled with ideas and concepts

For culture from you

 You cultivate and isolate

You build with pure love

You give it your all

And get it blessed from above

 All grown up you celebrate

In many different forms

You hold festivals of a kind

You have music and so much more

 Then it gains outside attention

And while you may be apprehensive

You share with foreigners anyway

And soon they find they want to stay

 This starts to happen more and more

Until you gain an overpour

But instead of kicking them out

You make more space to flolick about

 You spend your days making funky beats

Or sowing fashion made after the streets

You laugh and love and live in joy

You try to spread culture even through simple toys

 But then, they start to profit off of it

You yo become somewhat hesitant,

But you stay in your place

Because you thinks its love they display

 But the very things they took from you

The weaponize to make you blue

They call it, ghetto, ratchet, hood rat style

But when they do it, they make money for miles.

 So now you have a decision to make

And anything you pick will have a price to pay

Whether you let them monopolize what you love

Or confront and decide to take it back up

 In the midst of your decision, you notice with horror

That they’re hurting your people for the same things they order

And its becoming more apparent that you were right to be apprehensive

Because when it comes to your people dying, the do not hesitate.

 So you try to take back, you invent new things

You keep it under cover to try and prevent a repeat of history

Because you’d rather pay the price with facing endless spite

Then having to pay the price with one of your people’s lives.

Submission by Lyndsey F, 15, of Atlanta, GA, USA for We Have Questions on Isolationship-Journal in answer to Question 1: "What is Sacred and how do you protect it?" asked by Breaktide Productions and inspired by Protectors of Mauna Kea. Learn more about the We Have Questions creative project and this question's topic at isolationship-journal.tumblr.com