in the fall of 2020, a group of student organizers at st. john’s university started a group known simply as “the radicals,” and published multiple zines over the course of the semester. my art and writing were featured in their first issue in august/september, where i wrote and contributed an editorial illustration.

i penned a piece about my experiences as a trans person on and off campus, and my struggle to find home wherever i was. the story was based loosely on an evening spent talking to one of my closest friends at the beginning of my junior year, in his beat-up rental house that overlooked the back end of campus. right around this time, i also began romanticizing the music of bonnie “prince” billy and ultimately decided that it was the soundtrack of my life. when institutions pretend to see and hear us, their facade will slowly fade as soon as the individuals that it should be supporting realize that they are essentially doing nothing. at that moment, having a friend for the revolution is the most important thing one can have.

“Did you know how much I love you,
Is a hope that somehow you,
Would save me from this darkness?”