One day at school, I stopped eating lunch. I didn’t stop eating because I wasn’t hungry, hated cafeteria food, wanted to lose weight, or was extra studious. I stopped eating because I was ashamed of being poor. Growing up in Utah, my family was a part of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, the Mormons. TheContinue reading “Lunch Card”
Tag Archives: teresa renee bain
Redemption
I was born into the Mormon church, baptized at eight. I received a patriarchal blessing and worked hard to be a faithful Latter-Day Saint. I planned to attend Brigham Young University and expected to marry a returned missionary to build a family. I was continuing a faith tradition my family had worshiped in for overContinue reading “Redemption”
Indoctrination
Recently, our local paper had an article detailing a letter some concerned community members sent to the school district. They don’t like a “Black Lives Matter” banner hanging on the tennis court in front of the high school. Under the words “Black Lives Matter,” the banner reads, “Vision: Every student is a lifelong learner whoContinue reading “Indoctrination”
Teach Our Children
I’ve spent nearly two decades as an early childhood teacher teaching hundreds of students. Often, my preschool was the first time parents left their children. Building trust was a dance we did together. Student, parent, and teacher. The goal was to prepare each child for life beyond the preschool walls. Every parent loved their childContinue reading “Teach Our Children”
Beginnings
“Conversations with Racists Like Me,” is a writing idea I have been actively trying to ignore for nearly four years. The thought creeps into my brain when my guard is down in the wee hours of the night. It whispers when my anxious busyness cannot distract me. Much energy has been spent in avoidance. AtContinue reading “Beginnings”
Bridge
TERESA’S THOUGHTS: Instead of sharing about the book writing process, I want to share why I am writing this book at all. A book which is an autopsy of my own racism. Where I learned it. How I stayed blind to it. And where I might go from here. This dissection is painful and messyContinue reading “Bridge”
Schedules and Social Distancing
TERESA’S THOUGHTS: I live in Washington state which apparently is the epicenter of the Coronavirus outbreak in the United States. I have gone from believing I could carry on life as usual, to hunkering down at home for the foreseeable future. The common threat of this virus makes our world seems smaller and more intimateContinue reading “Schedules and Social Distancing”
Writing With Others
TERESA’S THOUGHTS: On Monday I attended a writing group which meets in a conference room at our local library. This is not a critique group where writers share their work in progress. Instead, this group meets to write. Most bring laptops we plug into a shared outlet at the center of the room. A fewContinue reading “Writing With Others”
Steps
TERESA’S THOUGHTS: Writing is a series of steps. The first step is getting the idea from my brain onto my laptop. My brain can’t be too tired or distracted. Often my fingers are unable to type fast enough for the floodgate of words spilling out. It feels like my brain is vomiting. My only goalContinue reading “Steps”
Love Letter to Nassau
Dear Nassau, Thank you for your Junkanoo drums vibrating deep into my bones. For Straw Market bartering, beaded braids, drunken tourists, and cruise ships that line your harbor. Does it bother you they rarely ask to see all of you? Thank you to people that work hard but laugh harder whose words flow in easyContinue reading “Love Letter to Nassau”