I’m drawn to poetry and photography that document real moments, especially the quiet, complicated ones. I like creating work that sits with discomfort, grief, and resilience, and turns those experiences into something visible and shareable. Photography helps me capture the moment as it exists; poetry helps me understand what it meant.

I’m deeply inspired by survival: what it costs people, and how those costs are shaped by the systems around them. Much of my poetry explores what it means to endure, both individually and collectively. At the same time, my photography focuses on moments that embody that same tension, whether it’s a quiet, tender moment in a hospital room or something as simple and instinctive as a bird catching a worm. Everything in life revolves around survival and I am inspired by the different meanings.

I would use it to launch a literary journal dedicated to disabled voices. While there has been meaningful progress in amplifying BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and women’s perspectives, I rarely see the same sustained investment in disabled artists. As a queer disabled woman, accessibility isn’t an afterthought for me—it’s foundational. I would use the funding to build an accessible platform, pay contributors fairly, and create a space where disabled artists are not only included, but centered.