My Top 10 Blogs of 2011

In case you missed some of my “wonderful” (or crappy) writing during this tumultuous year, I’m listing the very best. I went through 30 pages of my blog and rediscovered more reasons to write. Blogging is really a case study in charting my growth and reaction to adversity, while capturing intense emotions after they are long forgotten. In no particular order:

1. The Invisible South Asians in the Undocumented Immigrant Youth Movement – I see this as one of the more important blogposts I have written and I’m still trying to make sense of how model minority status compels an entire community into silence. If you are coming to the SAAN Conference in Michigan, do give this a read.
2. Finding Home Again: Published in Ambiente Magazine and my school newspaper, this documents my queer immigrant journey over the past decade.
3. USCIS Reinterpretation of CSPA: A Deference to Screwed Priorities. This piece is only on the list because it won an award. And maybe because it is the reason that I am undocumented and fighting removal proceedings.
4. Ground Zero in North Carolina: When Dream Freedom Fighters and (White) Cops Collide. This was a brilliant post about an action in North Carolina where a lot of my friends were arrested. HuffPost refused to publish it because it was controversial.
5. Gender Boundaries. This is almost on the emotionally heavy side and one about my gender identity and presentation and a brief glimpse into my life as a gender-queer person.
6. How To Place Yourself In Deportation Proceedings and How to be Jaded are funny, satirical pieces and you should read them if you have not already.
7. Love – This is a rare personal insight into who I really am beyond social media.
8. Critique of Professional and Decentering Citizenship. What is life without some deconstruction?
9. Sh*t My Mom Says serves as a constant reminder that mothers are amazing.
10. I feel, therefore I am Free

Have a great holiday season AND send me things you feel I should read!