Whew. That’s the first week of the semester. I’ve used these Friday posts to do a lot of different things over the years. To highlight community events. To talk a bit more casually about my own research. To promote my writings. But wanted to take a moment today to talk about my own challenges surrounding activism, academia and self-care. 

Let me put it simply. I had to sit some things out this past year. And that was hard. I think this work — both the academic side of it, and the activism side of it — is important. I care about it. I admire the people I do it with. I want to find ways to contribute to the work of so many talented people around me.

But I’m not superhuman. No matter how much I told myself I could do one more thing, over the last year there were a myriad of moments when I was wrong. I just couldn’t step up to the plate. I had too much going on in my private life and too much stress surrounding the tenure process, to continue with a lot of work I really cared about. I often felt like I let folks down. Things I genuinely loved (Camden Supper Club!) fell through the cracks. It was hard. 

But, the world kept moving. And I learned a lot about myself, and how self-care has to be integrated into activism and academia for the latter two things to work. Taking care of myself, through therapy, hobbies, making time for people I love, isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity. 

In that spirit, just wanted to share a few events over the weekend I’ll be attending over the weekend to get a little balance back. 

The first is Camden Jam — an arts festival that’s part of the Delaware River Festival: 

You ready for Camden Jam??? 🎶TOMORROW the Delaware River Festival's FREE music festival kicks off at 10am at Wiggins Park in Camden, NJ! Featuring 🚨 Miss Mýa,🚨 Kingsley Ibeneche, Arnetta Johnson, DeeJay SpontaneDe Tierra Caliente Trusol Music Marcus Myers & Ode To Omni Sol ChYld Hosted by Ms Dyana Williams of Classix Philly and JoRivers Musicpage !

Posted by Connect the Lots – Camden on Thursday, September 5, 2019

I can’t make the affiliated morning bike ride, but love the work bike activists are doing locally. And this is a great way to avoid Camden parking shenanigans (yes, that’s Art Barclay-related shade): 

Are you all ready for Saturday? It's going to be a huge day in Camden. This ride is happening in conjunction with the…

Posted by Bike Camden County on Tuesday, September 3, 2019

And lastly, a friend invited me to Symphony in C, which has a performance on Rutgers campus. I’m going to try to check that out as well. 

Those are some of things around Camden that I lean on when I know I need some time for self-care. If there are others you know about, drop a few in the comments! And, of course, sometimes self-care looks like this — getting out into the world and seeing arts — but sometimes it is curling up with a good book, sometimes it is picking up the phone to schedule an appointment with a therapist, and sometimes it’s texting a friend for support. Take care of yourselves this weekend. 

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