who am i..

i am aleia.

i am a woman, i am a wife

i am a teacher, i am a constant learner

i am talkative, i am introspective

i am limitless, i am passionate

i am aleia, i am liberation

i am from cali born and raised, yet it was in new york and new jersey that i came to be

i have lived as far north as chicago, as far east as nyc , and as far as texas, where i live now with the love of my life

i am this and none of it

i am divine, i am essence

i am aleia

Though I’m in my early 30s, life continues to reveal lessons for me that enhance my love for self, my family, and the world. These lessons refine what is important to me and allow me to be comfortable in my various identities– woman, wife, mother, lesbian, black, educator, educated, middle-class, urban, suburban, and the list goes on. Even as I list these characteristics, I know that they do not define me. Instead they help peel back the layers of what is important as I continue my quest for liberation.

My blog name, just like my life, is a result of my evolution. It began as a tribute to the adage “where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” ( 2 Corinthians 3:17). At the same time, it was a homage to Outkast’s Liberation Song “We alive or we ain’t livin/ that’s why I’m givin until it’s gone/ Cause I don’t wanna be alone/ If there’s anything I can say, to help you find your way/Touch your soul, make it whole, the same for you and I../There’s not a minute that goes by that I don’t believe/ that you die.. but I can feel it in the wind/ The beginning or the end/But people keep your head to the sky.” Lastly, and perhaps the most obvious, liberation theory refers to the spiritual mission to liberate people from poverty, mental, and emotional oppression, though my version of this idea is not limited to Christianity.

I hope you read, enjoy, provide feedback, and accompany me on my journey.