Borders
I did not go to school for poetry or writing. Art has always been something that I kept
personal… until recently. I was actually in medical school until a few months ago, when I
withdrew in protest of my school’s complicity in the Palestinian genocide. I have since
restructured my life, merging art and advocacy, until I can once again practice medicine
without sacrificing my humanity.
Borders as a theme speaks dearly to me as someone whose life has been blessed by those barricaded. I have bared witness to the dehumanization, exploitation, and abuse of people I love dearly, from Mexico to Egypt and Palestine, since I was a teenager. The discrepancy between the loving, communal, respectful, honorable, peaceful cultures I was welcomed into, and their portrayal in western media has left its mark on me, and colors so much of the work that I do. I reflect frequently on physical and ephemeral borders. Borders that block aid, opportunity, information. Borders that block empathy. The border between life and death.
I write and paint in an effort to move minds and open hearts. To fight the hate and
misunderstandings borne out of propaganda and misinformation. To highlight the beauty, the
love, of peoples that have shaped me into ever better versions of myself. I can only hope to
show gratitude and honor in return.
Artwork Courtesy of Taylor Hardy
