about me

gradmommy at gmail dot com

I am a married 26 27 year old black female graduate student. I have two children, a daughter AR who is three eight months old, and a son WA who is 22 months years old.

I love music, reading, crossword puzzles and yoga, but not necessarily in that order. My asana practice has suffered since I had kids, so I try to devote myself to self-less service to them and my husband as my daily yoga practice. I teach a yoga class once a week.

Research-wise, I am interested in the criminal justice system, gender and race. I am intrigued by the way societies treat people who have committed “crimes” or otherwise behaved in socially deviant ways. I think often of the saying “God loves the sinner but hates the sin” and wonder how our moral values as a so-called Christian nation inform how we think about punishment and rehabilitation within the justice system. I am also interested in social mobility and inequality; I am working on a project about motherhood around those issues. Lastly, I want to start a project about anti-homelessness laws. There is a fair amount done on this, so I’m still trying to find out my angle. My interests are really all over the place, I need to get it together.

I am learning how to be a good mommy and a good wife and a good student and a good daughter, friend, and citizen of the world. My husband says I treat everyone like family but I’m afraid that sometimes that means I don’t give my real family what they need from me. I’m writing this blog to work through some of these issues, share some of my day-to-day drama (or blessings, depending on how you look at it), comment on goings-on in the world or in my backyard, and in general do some writing that will hopefully inspire me to write in ways that will help my career and make me a better mother.