What's on my mind? Her, always. My kids, my relations, friends, my people and their struggles, the deaths of friends, the service users I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve and learn from, my social work practice, assignments, grad school, publishing my paper, deadlines, deadlines, deadlines... My brain never stops, I am always thinking, worrying, analyzing. I write my papers in between the times I am sitting on front of my computer. Some.of my nest work was written in my head while pacing, working out, walking etc. I am grateful for my gifts, my intelligence, critical thinking skills, my insight and ability to understand and connect theories and concepts and apply them to my practice. However, my aptitude in some areas are deficits in others. A good example is how I am really fast at finishing exams, I am typically one of, if not the first person done and score consistently above 4.0. I am able to go above and beyond with the papers I write, which nets high grades. What is harder to see is the price I pay for these natural gifts, which includes but is not limited to insomnia, and an almost constant state of anxiety. I think the point I am trying to make is that we are all walking contradictions in one way or another. Life is full of a multiplicity of contradictions. If we allow ourselves to get hung up on every contradiction or unknown we stall. The world is not simple and for those of us who engage in the messy world of helping we must accept contradiction as a fact of life. For example, hurt people, hurt people. Those who were abused often tend to abuse others similarly, but those who hurt others are still entitled to their own healing while being simultaneously responsible for someone elses trauma, both victim and perpetrator. Black and white edit. #blackandwhite #blackandwhitephotos #photograghingeverystep #photograghy #art #arttherapy #fitnessfocused #fit #tattooeddad #tattoosandsocialwork #inkedandindigenous #ojibwe #ojibway #firstnations #toronto #thenorth #the6 #thecity #turtleisland #socialworkdad #ojibwaysocialworker #ryersonstudent #ryersonsocialwork #indigenousknowledgeinformedsocialworkpraxisandpedagogy #socialworker (at Toronto, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp5-npGnWPR/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ss3gsdqbnl1t