On June 4, I presented this piece as one of the graduation speeches at the SFS virtual community celebration and chose to speak directly to our students and families. This gathering across GMeet came after our individual celebrations with of each of our 8th Graders and their families throughout the early afternoon and across the City. At SFS we work hard to honor each student and the connections they forge with our staff as they make their way through the years with us. I had been doing a lot of thinking about the role of Love in our world, particularly right now with the drive for social justice for Black and Brown people across this nation and the rallying cries to dismantle the racist institutional structures that holds us all back. I was inspired by the writing of our Head of School, Steve Morris, in his call for Love over Hate, and I had a wonderful collaboration with my colleague, Araceli Quezada, who partnered with me to craft this piece.

I wrote this piece at the end of April 2020 as one of my weekly send-off emails to the Upper School team at SFS. So much of trying to bring our best to our work with students and families in this most unusual time created by the COVID-19 pandemic requires a digging in, a slowing down, a taking root. I could find no better way to do this than by establishing a vegetable garden with my family…

This past winter my mom, Tarcila Nagramada, worked so hard to fight the cancer that returned after 10 years of laying dormant. She died on December 18, 2019. Her memory comes to me and through me at unexpected moments. In her honor, I share these words that I wrote for her and shared with our family and friends at her memorial service.

I wrote this piece in September 2019 originally for the opening of the school year at Back-to-School Night at SFS. I was inspired by an introduction game played at The Mosaic Project, “If you really knew me…” I wanted to shine a light on how so often middle school is a time to mask who we really are.