Menace To Society

I recently started therapy again, and one of the things I mentioned was that it feels like there's a 'part' of me that stows away big emotions and refuses to let them out because it's afraid of judgment. She desperately wants to avoid being singled out for being sensitive or strange.

Its 'sister', meanwhile, patrols my behavior, trying to make sure I am as morally inoffensive and squeaky clean as possible. She carries the strict, regressive messages and respectability politics that I try hard to remove from my faith and personhood.

One of the things my therapist has illustrated is that these parts are largely protective, or at least try to be - they try their hardest to avoid the uncomfortable words and circumstances that were experienced in the past, though sometimes they can do more harm than good. My therapist also suggested that I meet these parts of me with kindness instead of criticism. So here we are!

ko-fi | twitter | bluesky | art tag

hi! for those who don't know i'm miles. im a disabled hobbyist artist living in canada where we have been blessed by a currency thats declining in power and making everything kind of expensive. i also just moved (yay) which means i have some random stuff ive had to buy because moving Just Kinda does That (not yay)

i also would like to restart therapy and also trying to get out more because a lot has been going on with me on a mental/emotional level thats gotten to a place of genuine danger. i dont want to unload it all here but i was granted disability support from the government first and foremost due to severe mental illness and unfortunately things have been getting worse. i'm using my newfound proximity to home to get the help i need, but unfortunately, for reasons only the government knows, despite being approved specifically for disability due to mental illness, my disability coverage does not apply to therapy.

the point being stuffs expensive for many reasons, but i like doing art and art is a service that can be exchanged for money, and having more money would be good. my ko-fi is also open for donations if so inclined! if you have any questions please feel free to message me here or on ko-fi. shares are always appreciated too!

Flower girl. 🌸🌷

I absolutely adore peonies - my husband actually got a small bouquet of them for my birthday, and I have one being pressed in a book right now.

Happy Black History Month! Love, celebration, and the preservation of history are so important right now. As a child, I struggled to accept my identity, and I realized later that this was due to the harmful messages that surrounded not only me, but also other Black and Brown children. However, by encountering media that celebrated the Black experience, I learned to embrace my identity. I slowly learned to love my kinky hair, dark skin, and broad, button nose. This is what motivates me to create art that celebrates the Black experience - the hope that children will learn to love themselves rather than resent their features.

A doodle inspired by sunsets! The days are getting slightly longer, which makes me happy.

To be honest, the last few days (or weeks?) have been incredibly stressful. On a personal level, work has become more demanding, and I can feel burnout creeping closer. The kind of work I do is impactful but can be emotionally taxing, and I'm watching the resources that my team and I depend on ebb away as grants and funds are slashed. On a macro level, the world often feels as though it is burning without stopping. I have been trying to find comfort in the reminder that there are still good people in the world who are fighting for change, and that we have fought (and won) against evil in the past.

Please have a really dumb comic based on a silly conversation(?) I had with my husband a few weeks ago!

A semi-mindless doodle. A friend mentioned stargazing recently, and it reminded me of how enchanted by stars and constellations I was as a child 🌟🌙