Good day! Today I write you from my back porch. There's nothing quite like sitting in the midst of nature and absorbing all the sensations. The sun's warmth, the wind's caress (which can feel like a dear friend or a naughty toddler who won't give you more than a few moments' peace, depending on the day and your mood).

I have been continuing my daily writing practice even on the days when I don't post publicly. It is definitely a practice that one adopts and develops. As a husband and father of two who also works a full-time day job, I've come to really cherish my writing time. I can be fully alone with my thoughts, free from push notifications and blue light and all those modern distractions.

I've been writing poetry more regularly—I've been inspired by one thing or another most days, usually in the morning (my peak creative hours, I'm finding). I plan to start posting at least one poem a week, possibly more as time and creative output allow for. I am also very passionate about my printmaking practice, though it's one I engage with in a more sporadic way. I started out making what are known as linocut or linoleum block prints, a practice taught to me by my art teacher all the way back in kindergarten. I attended what was, in retrospect, a wonderful elementary school: Casa View Elementary. It was only two blocks away from my house. I went there until third grade, when I witnessed my teacher slap another student across the face. Just a straight, open-hand 'SMACK!' I have a generally awful and unreliable memory, but that was one of those few moments that kind of gets frozen in time, like Han Solo in carbonite.

I told what I saw in vivid detail... and all of the other kids covered for her! We had simply been goofing around, they said. (She's one of the COOL teachers, don't get her in trouble, Jared!) Inappropriate, but not a slap. Jared must be crazy! That was my earliest known instance of being gaslit. Gaslighting, for those unfamiliar, is basically when you call someone crazy for making a sane, true observation.

I had zero doubt about what my eyes witnessed that day. It caused me a lot of problems socially to tell the truth. Perhaps there is a deeper meaning there, if we just dig a little for it.

Other than that, though—genuinely great school! I'm sad I had to part ways as I did. But the path of truth and righteousness is not always easy, nor is it always clearly defined. You are often the one to blaze that path. Know that there are many others like you out there. Peace and love. ♡

—Jared Caraway