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For storytellers, emotions are a necessary tool to do this work well.
LISTENING: to some Maggie Rogers after watching "The Idea of You" on Prime
FEELING: warmed by the sun
SEEING: inklings of summer
Last night, I dreamt I was on a boat before a wave swept me away. I remember reaching for a life vest, scrambling to get it over my head as I yelled over and over again, "I can't swim! I can't swim!" I didn't secure the vest before the ocean rolled me over and over. I remember thinking, "There could be worse ways to die."
I'm writing a story right now about migrants who brave the high seas in their attempt to reach safer lands. Folks fleeing conflict and drought-torn lands. Mothers and children. Fathers and brothers. People who've known poverty. Others who've known comfort and risked it away for a chance at freedom.
As a journalist, the work I do inevitably seeps into my psyche. I hate it. This week's therapy session was all about my dreams and how horrid they tend to be. My therapist thinks I awake exhausted most mornings because my anxiety from the day before eats up so much energy, so I need more rest.
Welcome to Possibilities, a creative climate newsletter on the possibilities that lie where crisis meets community. I’m Yessenia Funes, and I think emotions are a tool to do good journalism.