What you *actually* missed at the Oscars

Watched the Oscars on Sunday? Well, even if you didn’t, I’m sure you’ve seen alllll the recaps on every media platform. Yes, there is a lot to unpack around the slap, and so much more.

But I'm here to tell you my favorite part:

Arianna DeBose. 

A Queer Afro-Latina who won an Oscar for her role in West Side Story. Here’s what she said in her acceptance speech: 

“To anybody who has ever questioned your identity or you find yourself living in the gray spaces, I promise you this: There is indeed a place for us.”

Yes, she was referencing to - the space n’between!

I love this because it brings into light the n’betweener experience, and the importance of us being represented and seen.

Loneliness is a core experience of being an n’betweener. I mean all types of loneliness from isolation, rejection, being misunderstood, etc.

In the presence of others, you might feel a deep nagging feeling. It’s hard to describe, but it’s a sort of emptiness. 

When we hold such complex marginalized experiences, we naturally feel that no one can relate to us. That we can’t hold a place in this world.

Trauma creates an illusion of isolation.

In reality, there is someone right at this moment who is feeling something very similar to what you're feeling right now. 

Even an Oscar winner. I mean that even n’betweeners on the largest platforms can relate to what you'e experiencing.

So remember that you're not alone, you're n'between.

Living in the gray is a magical space.

Hug, 

Nora