I’ve been volunteering as a medic during the protests. What led me to go was accumulating pain. Unprocessed, accumulating, pent-up pain. I had watched what happened to George Floyd over and over again on the news, and as an empath, I couldn’t just sit around any longer.  

At the protest, I was sitting at the medic station watching street performers, drummers, and peaceful protestors going back and forth with their cardboard signs speaking out about the injustice against black lives. That’s when this thought occured to me, “The aftermath of pain is expression.” I watched people painting murals, sketching, performing, dancing, singing, and doing what they could to express the pain they’ve been feeling. 

Lately I, too, have been feeling like I have so much pent-up pain and I’ve wanted to express it. Seeing people express their pain through art is very inspiring and beautiful. Pent-up pain needs to be expressed in some way, and the decision on how to express your pain is up to you.

I believe something beautiful, like healing ourselves and our community can come out when you use art to express your pain. As a nurse who also photographs and takes both roles seriously, I’ve been using my photography to process some of my own pain. I’m not claiming to be an artist that has figured it out, but this season is teaching me to use my camera to create beauty and healing from pain. And it has given me a reason to wake up each morning. 

Here are some of the moments I’ve captured while going through my season of pain. Titled….

“The aftermath of pain is expression.”

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