A Mermaid’s Crown

My mother beaded my crown by hand. Do you recognize the patterns?

Diatoms! They’re snowflakes in the ocean, microscopic organisms built from opal, the most beautiful phytoplankton (in my opinion) you’ll ever see. Many of the diatoms in the photograph above (captured by Dr. Robert Berdan) inspired my mom. Just look at the details below!

I was 2012 S.T.I.D.A. Princess during the Twenty-third Annual South Texas (Way South) Pow Wow. At the time, I’d just received a bachelor’s degree in oceanography; my thesis work involved Trichodesmium-wrangling on the blue Sargasso Sea. The crown represents my passion for the ocean – it’s my hope that other pow wow princesses will wear scientific motifs on their heads in the future :3 Hey, maybe some already have! Give me a call, if that’s you …

Here I am with my beautiful mom and grandmother. Check out that cell phone pic quality!

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When I Remember That I’m an Adult Now

Have I really lived 9500 days?
I can only remember a small fraction.
My Consciousness is stagnant.
It must be a boulder sitting in the river
(in this metaphor, the river is time),
unmoving, yes, unmoving,
as it’s steadily eroded.