are you an artist too?

Hello Everyone, Swetha here again!⁠

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YES! ⁠

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I am totally an artist!⁠

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If we go down the “did you go to art school” route, yes I did. I have my BFA, which I basically switched into on a gut feeling after losing steam on science courses I was taking - so I am all for that!⁠

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However, it took me a long time to call myself an artist. My art is very personal and sometimes I am not comfortable sharing. This became very apparent to me when it came time to display my art at school. We learn that art can be so many things in art school but it took me some time to figure out my Art doesn’t need to be on a wall, and my art can be teaching others to find their own artistic groove, or better yet - as a modality for healing!⁠

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Also, I’m currently re-processing the euro-centric and colonized definitions of artists. There are so many ways art shows up for us and in us. There are so many parts of me that always were grounded in art, but they wouldn’t be recognizable as “being an artist” without a decolonized perspective. I want to end on that note: if we can pause learned judgment we can find there is an artist/art in all of us!⁠

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Sending you all good vibes,⁠

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-Swetha⁠

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// Originally posted on January 12th, 2023.

what does being demi-sexual mean for you?

Hi Everyone,⁠ Swetha here!⁠

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First, I want to acknowledge there are a lot of us who didn't get the space, strength, and acceptance to engage in questioning our sexuality and settled for accepting labels and categories others had for us. As a society we are better at creating space for LGBTQIAA2S+ folks now, but we are not “there” yet! ⁠

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Being demisexual can have many personal facets - my answer is rooted in my own journey of shedding labels and giving space for QUESTIONING that I needed to do earlier in my life. ⁠

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Demisexual for me means there is no desire without connection: A connection beyond materialistic and superficial definitions of “love” and ALSO beyond the volatility of emotions. In simple terms, I have to feel like there is a soul contract, or some kind of familiarity that I can’t quite explain before desire can take hold.⁠

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Waiting for the universe to throw me an intimate partner for fun times is frustrating but it’s also a non-negotiable (which is why Demisexuals are on the Asexual spectrum! We will abstain if we don’t feel the gain!). But when the universe does throw one my way - I’m never disappointed 😉 ⁠

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Sending you all good vibes!⁠

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-Swetha⁠

// Originally posted on Instagram on January 9th, 2023.

how do you walk away from something that's really bad for you?

Hi everyone, Swetha here!

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How do I walk away from something that is really bad for me? ⁠

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To be honest, I don't always, at first. I fiercely believe in the potential for something/someone to go positively well. I don't expect perfection and I believe in transformation - which in turn has meant that sometimes I stay in toxicity for a tad longer than I should. ⁠

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Do I regret this? Sometimes. It takes me some time to remind myself that experiences lend themselves to my work, and my identity. However, if I can save you some trouble, I will share a conversation I have with myself that has made processing and walking away easier:⁠

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I ask myself if I would do the same TO someone else or expect the same FOR someone else. Who would I do this to? Who would I want this for? Why?⁠

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Sometimes we stay in the bad because it is familiar, and/or we are willing to put up with stuff we would never wish for someone else.⁠

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Knowing which part of the coin is activating for you is important before you can truly let go. ⁠

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If you keep going back, maybe - probably, the lesson is not over.⁠

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Sending good vibes,⁠

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-Swetha⁠

// Originally posted on Instagram on January 6th, 2023.