Monday Matter: Alcapurrias, video games and the paradox

Your biweekly Foreign Bodies roundup

Every other Monday, I send subscribers and gift recipients of immigrant mental health and storytelling newsletter Foreign Bodies stories I recently inhaled and adored. This is also a chance to do some housekeeping and give shout-outs and all that jazz.

First things first

A little housekeeping (or babbling)

Word vomit: Dispatch from our gratitude journals

Last week, a good friend joined me for a coworking coffee date where we ended up laughing about the motley assortment of entries in our gratitude journals. Vulnerability came up a lot (surprise: she’s a Pisces and I’m a Libra) as did animals and trees and also video games, but only because the games preoccupied her partner and left her with some much-needed alone time. In an entry last week, I wrote about feeling grateful for my body when it actually does what my brain wants. And in my latest, after a six-hour flare-up that kept me in bed for an entire workday, I found myself thanking my body for failing me every now and then. “You force me to slow down, and maybe that’s not such a bad thing,” I wrote. Today’s entry: “my dog, Lady. Also, peaches.”

A musical start to your Mondays 🎧

One song to groove to, cry to, drive to and share

This week’s pick (recommended by me!) is British singer-songwriter Cleo Sol, best known for her soul and alternative R&B. Born and raised in Ladbroke Grove, Sol comes from a family of multiethnic musicians.

Resource(s) of the week

Something helpful and interesting and cool (*storytelling opportunity)

• *Storyknife Writers Retreat: Applications are open for women storytellers itching for the time and space to explore their craft without distraction. Food and lodging is covered during the period of this 2-4 week residency in Homer, Alaska. Applications for 2024 residency sessions close on Aug. 31.

• Borderless Magazine: a member-supported nonprofit newsroom based in Chicago that’s working to dismantle racist and harmful media coverage of immigrants