audsjournal

[audsjournal]

From Passion to Purpose: CulturexCommunity

Stacey Grant-Lewis, UCF alum and social entrepreneur always knew she would be a part of a community effort bigger than herself.

She didn’t know quite what it would be until around February of 2020.

            Grant, who moved to the US from Jamaica when she was 10, was watching the news with her husband in their Massachusetts home when coverage of Ahmaud Arbury’s death was shown on national television. She couldn’t believe she had just watched a black man get shot for simply running. She couldn’t believe the news was willing to show it.

            “This is getting crazy,” she thought. But the more she thought, Grant realized things weren’t getting crazy, the racial issues in this country had been crazy.

            “We’ve been too insulated in what we think has been progress that not much has been changed,” she thought.

            Lewis was left feeling ineffectual. She thought she had done everything right. She helped others, she was living a fulfilled life, she had reached across the aisle when it came to race. Something was still missing.

            “I knew if I felt this way, I couldn’t imagine how the person who lives in the projects and has no way out must feel,” Grant said.

            She couldn’t help but feel the weight of people who have lived a similar experience to her.

            Lewis turned to her husband, a white Jewish man.

“We are about to be at war,” She said, “It may take a war like our ancestors had to move the needle on this.”

            Not wanting to live through a race war, Stacey Grant knew she had to nudge this issue into the right direction, and in a positive way.

            Within the next couple of weeks, Culture x Community was born. A nonprofit 501© Public Charity dedicated to educating adults and children on how to talk about race and culture.

            Starting off as a website, Stacey created a Wix account and began posting the things she was learning when looking at race internally.

            “I was learning a lot of things I had never learned in school,” Grant Said. She learned about how much racism had been built into the system of the country, and how many people, including herself, were inadvertently contributing to systemic racism daily. It had been engrained into her life, and she was learning how to actively work against the system.

 “Why wasn’t I taught any of this as a black person?” Stacey thought.

As she learned more, she started taking people with her via Culture x Community. Her website only started to grow from there.

Everything she read, she posted. Followers started sending her additional articles that she posted as well. She started compiling newsletters that she sent out to friends and those interested.

“We’re all so busy and people just want a place to find the information in a way they can understand that’s not just a big decertation on race,” Grant said.

As the newsletters caught on, Lewis started a podcast and gathered speakers from the community to discuss race and culture in their own words. Stacey Grant also incorporated her personal narrative into CultureXComunity by posting vlogs and podcasts with her husband on navigating race and culture within an interracial marriage.

            “The whole idea of Culture x Community is that we’re not just teaching people about race, we want them to learn a different way of being,” Grant said. Lewis wanted to push people to shift their focus from glaring dissimilarities, to highlighting how they might be the same.

            Lewis clarified that finding similarities does not mean ‘not seeing color.’

“There’s color and there’s race and there’s gender, but those things are okay. You don’t have to omit them,” Grant said. There are ways to connect while still acknowledging an individual’s personal background and culture. 

            Through CulturexCo, Grant was able to not only open people up to their true selves, but also make a difference locally by handing out checks from fundraising to underprivileged students wanting to go to college.

            In the near future, Grant hopes to create her own Culture School through the nonprofit. A six-to-eight-week program where children and adults can learn about race and culture and how to celebrate it without appropriating it. It is a new idea, but Grant has already started raising funds for the project.

            Her ultimate goal with the school and the nonprofit is to create a space where kids and adults can always ask questions freely, because the rug on racism can only be lifted if people are curious enough to look under it.

[audsjournal]

Seaside is Florida's Best Kept Secret

Each year, thousands of people flock to Florida’s beaches for the warmth and change of scenery. Among the popular vacation destinations are Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and even the Keys. However, a hidden gem, nestled in the panhandle, often gets overlooked by travelers. Seaside, Florida is the perfect place for travelers who are looking to enjoy a more quaint and quiet beach trip. 

Located between Panama City and Fort Walton, Seaside is a small resort community that sits directly on the Gulf of Mexico. Part of what gives Seaside its charm is the recognizable architecture. The community has widely adopted a single building style, so many of the houses and cottages are built to the same level and style. This cohesive look provides a perfect opportunity for vacationers to take the perfect photos. Influences of Key West style homes can be seen a lot as well as influences from the Caribbean and even Nantucket. Staples of the homes seen in Seaside include white picket fences, white porches, and white scenic pavilions along the beach walkway. The traditional beach cottage style of Florida really shines through in both the older and newer homes, and gives the city a really personable feel. A lot of the homes are also painted using light and pastel colors which really helps brighten up the city and add to the cohesiveness of the community. Even the local elementary school is located in a cottage-style building. With very few high-rise hotels, there are plenty of beach cottages that double as vacation rentals so that tourists can live like locals for the week. 

Seaside is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Located in Northwest Florida along what is called the ‘emerald coast’: the sand is fine, almost white,  and the water is as blue as the sky. Santa Rosa Beach and Rosemary Beach are some of the more well known spots along 30A and have been named some of the best beaches in Florida. It is the perfect setting for travelers to clear their head and reset.

 If the heat ever gets to be too much, Seaside has countless artisanal shops and boutiques located right along the water. The city is home to several art and jewelry galeries where local creators can share their art with tourists. The most famous shop of them all is The 'SEASIDE' Style Store itself, which has its own brand of Seaside clothing. The store sells T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, Hats, and almost anything you can think of with the logo Seaside directly printed in the middle. It is a fashion staple for both locals and visitors.

Another factor that makes Seaside a prime destination for couples and families is the privacy included in the traveler’s stay. Almost all of the cottages in Seaside are located along or near the scenic 30A Highway and have private access to the beach associated with the rental. This really helps keep the beaches from overcrowding and diffuses major issues such as littering and partying that can come with hefty spring break crowds. The community also has strong security, making this a perfect place to bring kids or even to travel alone. 

After getting settled, right outside the shops at 30A is a line of gourmet food trucks for anyone looking for a midday snack. The trucks offer anything from fresh smoothies, gyros, and even wagyu beef hotdogs. The Meltdown, a grilled cheese food truck, is a fan favorite and offers unique dishes such as “this little figgy,” a sandwich with brie, bacon and sweet fig compote.There is a truck for every taste bud out there.

When dinner time rolls around, head to Pickles, which is known for their pimento cheese burgers, milkshakes and of course, their Seaside known fried pickles. This restaurant is directly off of the main Seaside Square and offers lots of outside seating for people coming straight from the beach. For a fancier feast, head to La Crema Tapas and Chocolate Restaurant, which features dishes like beef empanadas, shrimp ceviche, and chocolate fondue.  If sweet treats are the goal of the trip, Pecan Jacks Ice Creamery and Candy Kitchen is the perfect destination to cool off from the sun with an ice cream cone or milkshake. This shop even offers spiked sweet treats for the adults on the trip! 

Whether looking for family fun or a girls weekend getaway, Seaside encompasses it all. From the family friendly environment, to the shops and restaurants, there will be something for everyone to enjoy when visiting Seaside next spring. 

[audsjournal]

Promising Young Women: The Females and Films Taking over Hollywood

It is no secret that Hollywood has been a male dominated industry since its start. In a 2020 report on indie film screenings at U.S. festivals given by Women and Hollywood, nearly 30% of indie films made from 2019-2020 employed 10 or more men on set. Films with over 10 women on set accounted for only 5% of the indie films. Women have been gradually pushing to the frontlines of entertainment over the past couple decades. But in 2017, the “Me Too” movement broke the barriers of the industry and shined a light on some of the dark reasons women have had trouble making a name for themselves in Hollywood.

 In October of 2017, celebrity Ashley Judd was the first actress to go on the record and speak about Harvey Weinstein, a prominent American film producer and co-founder of Miramax who had been assaulting countless women in Hollywood for years. Once Judd came out exposing Weinstein, it opened the curtain to all the other women he had assaulted during his time in Hollywood.

It also opened the curtain on other men who were getting away with the same thing in other places.

            Immediately following the #MeToo movement and Weinstein’s official sentencing for rape and assault, Hollywood began to produce more content exploring the issues of sexual assault and misconduct not only in Hollywood, but in the workplace. Robert Thompson, professor of Pop Culture at Syracuse University, said it best in an article for Reuters, “Hollywood is now becoming its own loudest voice in helping to call out what a bad thing this is.”

Since films require time and care to produce, the effects of the movement on the media began to really show in 2019 and 2020.  Movies such as “The Assistant”: directed by Kitty Green, and “Bombshell”: directed by Jay Roach, were a few examples of these films, and both explore plots where a younger woman is assaulted by a man who has power over her job. Other content was specifically about the media and its place in the movement as well. “The Morning Show”, which explores themes similar to Bombshell, was a direct hit at Matt Lauer’s departure from the “Today” Show, after reports came out about his inappropriate sexual behavior. It was apparent from the similarity in titles the media wasn’t keeping secrets anymore, and time was up.

 “Unbelievable”, a Netflix series released in 2019, uncovers the harsh reality of the justice system, when a woman is raped in her own home and pressured by male detectives to recant her statement when police couldn’t find enough evidence. It isn’t until two female detectives follow evidence from cases years later that the truth behind her story is revealed.

“Promising Young Woman”, directed by Emerald Fennell, centers on a big theme of justice as well when Cassie, played by Carrey Mulligan, is given a chance at revenge from men who assaulted her friend in college.

It is important to note that almost all these pieces were written, developed, and directed by women as well as starring women.  Females are taking the narrative of women in Hollywood into their own hands, because they are the ones that have experienced it.

Ever since the women in Hollywood started to name and point out sexual violence both legally and through the screen, it has exposed sexual violence and years of sexist practices that have continuously forgiven and protected men.

“Naming sexualized violence makes it visible and subject to prosecution,” Said Gloria Steinem, co-founder of the Women’s Media Center. “In the past, what happened to men was political, but what happened to women was cultural. The first was public and could be changed, the second was private, off limits, even sacred. By making clear that sexualized violence is political and public, it breaches that wall. It admits that sexualized violence can be changed.”

The media has a big role to play in shifting the culture, not only the culture behind sexual violence, but the culture of Hollywood in general. After the start of the #MeToo movement, a clear step has been made forward for women, as studies from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative show that women directed 12 of 2019’s top 100-grossing films, an evident increase from years prior. Women still only made up 10.6% of the top filmmakers. A valuable change, but more still must be done.

As Ashley Judd, a founder of the movement has said,

“The world has permanently changed. We are in a new era. It is messy, imperfect, and urgent.” However, it is not over.

[audsjournal]

Seeing the Goode: Maddie's Journey

            Maddie Goode was well liked by everyone. A star student in high school who was expected to graduate with her AA. She was close with her parents, had many friends, and was eager to start her college journey. Goode struggled with her mental health from a young age, but still excelled in all aspects of her life despite it. Her parents had always been open and honest when it came to getting the help Goode needed. Even with her mental health struggles, Maddie Goode always considered herself healthy and never had any complications. She worked just like any other student her age, serving tables at the local restaurant “Long Doggers” in Satellite Beach.

            One night, around September of 2018, Goode was nearing the end of her shift. The restaurant was almost empty as customers were clearing out, but something felt off to Maddie. Goode slipped into a booth and fainted. When she came to, she brushed it off, assuming she hadn’t eaten enough that day. This would happen several times before Maddie and her family would understand the extent what was happening inside Goode’s body.

            Two weeks later, Oct. 18th, Goode woke up with an alarming fever. Attempts to bring it down with Tylenol were futile, and the fever climbed to 104 degrees. Goode and her mom, Paige, visited urgent care where Maddie was tested for flu and strep. Negative. More tests the next day. Nothing. On the third day, Maddie visited her primary doctor for more tests. Day 4 and the doctors decide to test Goode for mono, a test that requires a routine blood draw. This blood sample would change the course of Maddie’s life.

            That afternoon, Goode’s father received a call. It was doctors requesting he immediately bring Maddie to the cancer center in Melbourne. “We think she may have Leukemia,” the doctors said.

            Maddie’s dad immediately called Paige Goode, who was at work. She was in the middle of a parent-teacher conference when she found out. The words devastated her.

            “All I know is that my fellow teachers say they will never forget the noise I cried out,” She said.

Goode and her family immediately met at their house and drove to the hospital together. Two days later, not even a week after waking up with a fever, a bone-marrow biopsy confirmed the severity of the situation. Maddie Goode was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

            “I was almost relieved,” Goode said, “I felt so sick, and they at least knew what it was and how to help me.”

            The doctors told Goode’s parents first, however, Maddie didn’t even remember hearing her official diagnosis. She felt so sick that her memory was foggy.  

            Goode was transferred from Melbourne to Moffitt Cancer Center in an ambulance; she didn’t remember the ride either.

            After arriving at Moffitt, the first step of business was to treat Goode’s secondary infections that resulted in the fever.

            By Halloween, she would start her first session of chemotherapy.

Her doctor, Dr. Shah, had experience with pediatrics, which was helpful to Goode who was only 18 at the time. He developed a treatment plan with a mixture of pediatric and adult medication, to be administered in five separate phases. Some phases would last eight weeks, while the longest one would last 24 months.

Maddie remained under inpatient care for about six weeks.

            During her stay, on Nov. 11, Goode woke up to use the bathroom. She swung her legs onto the side of the bed and stood up, but immediately fell to the floor.

            She woke up her mom, who slept in a cot to the right of her bed every night.

            “Mom, I can’t feel the right side of my body,” Goode said.

Maddie started to have seizures and was taken in for an MRI. A large blood clot was found on the left side of her brain. She was having a stroke. Doctors try to prep 18-year-old Goode for her treatment options, one being an invasive surgery to remove the clot. She was still shaking violently.

            “Whatever you need to do to save my child, I’ll agree to it,” Paige Goode said.

Maddie was transferred over to Tampa General Hospital for surgery. She had no idea where she was when she arrived.

The surgery was a success, but Goode had to relearn most of her motor skills. Her mom remembered Maddie using emojis to text friends when she didn’t have her speech back yet.

“I was a shell,” Goode said, “I could never get through a therapy session without crying because it was so frustrating.”

Goode would finish the rest of her inpatient treatment at Tampa General as she learned to talk and walk again. On Dec. 5th, she was released from impatient care to continue treatment from home.

That Christmas, there was no tree. Things like that didn’t matter as much. Goode was at Moffitt on Christmas and New Year’s Eve, traveling back and forth for weekly infusions while also on a strict regimen of pills. On Valentine’s Day, her date met her at the hospital.

Goode would be admitted, sometimes a week at a time, for higher dosages of chemo. Within a month after her diagnosis, Goode was in remediation. The continued treatment made sure it remained that way. She would chug water in the hospital in hopes of speeding up her metabolism for treatment. As Goode adjusted to this phase, parts of her life started to come alive again. That May, she won prom queen.

A few days later, Maddie woke up in horrible pain. Her foot was throbbing, and her gums were bleeding. She was taken to the hospital where doctors found an open wound from her prom pedicure.

“They told me I was almost septic,” she said. More treatments, more drugs, and the infection got under control. Her nurses set up a mock graduation at the hospital for her, a moment Goode and her PA, Chris, shared through tears.

That summer, plans were in place for Goode to start her freshman year at the University of Central Florida.

A week before she was set for move in, a fever placed Maddie in the emergency room. Maddie and her parents ultimately made the hard decision for Maddie to stay home that year. In August, her friends moved away while she remained at home.

She was still sick. She still had no hair, and now her support system was dwindling. This year was even harder for her than the year of her diagnosis.

“I wanted a job, anything, to make me feel normal,” She said, “I couldn’t even go outside to tan.”

In the spring, she took Chemistry at the local community college.

When summer of 2020 came around, Maddie could not have been more excited to finally go to UCF after waiting a year. She craved a sense of independence that she lost with her diagnosis. Maddie’s mom felt more comfortable sending her to Orlando this time around, because Goode was moving in with two close friends. She would still be going back and forth to Tampa for infusions, but they were less frequent at this point in her treatment.

In August, Maddie registered for sorority recruitment and joined a Greek organization on campus. Her support system was coming back.

April of 2021 brought Maddie to her final chemo infusion. She woke up excited, but still knew she would have oral chemo pills to take for a few weeks. She sat in a chair at Moffitt, the nurse pulled down Maddie’s shirt slightly, and the IV meds entered the port directly below her collar bone for the last time. Both of Maddie’s parents watched as she rang the bell in the lobby to signify her triumph.

Maddie drove back to Orlando the next day where the celebrations continued. Her friend, Samantha Bean, asked her over for some dinner. When Maddie arrived, she was greeted by Sam and other friends with a large cake and printed photo of Maddie. Now more than ever, Maddie held her friends tight. She knew now more than anyone the importance of appreciating your friends, because there was a time she thought she could lose them.

A month later, Maddie was sitting in her bed staring at her last oral chemo pill. She was by herself, with just her music and a decorative gold banner she bought. She placed the pill on her tongue and swallowed before dancing around her room with joy. She had won the fight.

She looked over at the gold banner on her wall that read, “Fuck Cancer.”

Maddie agreed.