For The Worldbuilders

I’ve been thinking a lot about how our body is an interface for learning and creating alongside our ecosystems. In the Future Organisms workshop that I attended in Colorado last week, while in conversation with a cheese maker, ceramicist and computational biologist, I reflected on how “craft” is another word for using our body as an interface for engaging with the material of our ecosystem and how “technology” is often the trace of that transformative engagement.

Mentioned in video

Timnit Gebru is fired and Geoffrey Hinton left. Read Timnit's story here and read Geoffrey's story here then reflect on the contrast.

I also invite you to read the Seeda School newsletter referenced in this podcast, Surprise! They're Late: No surprise, black feminism is right on time.

Due to the commitment to care rooted in the research of Dr. Ruha Benjamin, Dr. Safiya Noble, Timnit Gebru, and many, many others, powerful white men like Eric get to perform “thought leadership” in a cultural and media landscape where concern around AI and algorithmic bias is normalized thanks to the work black feminists cared enough to share while simultaneously being attacked.

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Email me at [email protected].

Reflecting on the possibilities of JavaScript and how one might teach it, I returned to Octavia Butler, and in returning to Butler, I returned to consent and in returning to consent I returned to my body savoring all the ways I have finally given myself permission to change and be changed. Read the entire newsletter and footnotes here.

Register here for this free JavaScript workshop on Tuesday, May 23rd, 2023 at 6pm EST where you will bring your favorite website, get introduced to JavaScript concepts like the DOM and learn how to change your favorite website using HTML and JavaScript.

Are You an Aspiring Software Engineer, Freelancer or Entrepreneur? I want to invite you to join us for the upcoming Discovery Workshop where we will get clarity on your coding curiosity, story, and goals, in order to learn how Seeda School can help with all 3.

Register here: https://www.seedaschool.com/discovery-workshop

Plant the seed of your curiosity in nutrient rich soil. I hope you’ll join me in this upcoming discovery workshop, Learn How to Build a Black Feminist Coding Project in One Month, taking place over Zoom on Tuesday, March 28th, 2023 at 6-7PM EST. Register here and together we will explore your curiosity in code, uncover the stories that have stopped you from learning how to code, and learn how Seeda School can help you build a black feminist coding project in one month. You can read this invitation for yourself inside this latest Seeda School newsletter.

My biggest fear isn’t failure or Seeda School “not working” or “not meeting my needs” — the success of Seeda School is inevitable. I know I’m called to this work and there is no “failure” inside calling, only lessons. My biggest fear is actually being the creator of a job I hate, being the facilitator of work that is unsatisfying or exhausting. Which is truly only a failure in boundaries and the courage to maintain them. Back to acting out belief, it’s about the courage to believe in the worthiness of your work enough to create boundaries to protect the sustainability of it.

Here are your Soft, Where? prompts to workshop throughout the week:

Soft, Where? is a podcast where host, Ayana Zaire Cotton, talks about their journey toward finding and creating softness inside technology. This podcast is presented by Seeda School, a skill building platform for learning how to code through a black feminist lens. I invite you to take a screenshot and share it on social media or with other black feminists who are also on a journey of finding and creating softness inside our relationships to technology.

Soft, Where? Episode 009 Podcast Transcript: How Much Does A Dollar Cost?

I only have the capacity for 12 more learners who are curious about learning to code through a black feminist lens so please book a free consultation call to see if this offering is aligned with your needs and ask any questions I didn’t answer in this episode.

Soft, Where? Is a podcast where I talk about my journey toward finding softness inside technology. This podcast is presented by Seeda School, a skill building platform for learning how to code through a black feminist lens. I am currently offering 1:1 coaching for black feminist looking to develop a coding portfolio of 5 projects in 15 weeks. Visit the Seeda School coaching page to book a free consultation call where we’ll hop on Zoom to discuss your web development goals and how Seeda School might be able to help.

Soft, Where? Episode 008 Podcast Transcript: How Does Seeda School Code Coaching Work?

(Loose) Transcript: 007. 3 Affirmations for Self Compassion

Welcome to the Soft, Where? podcast where I talk about my journey toward finding softness inside technology. This podcast is presented by Seeda School, a skill building platform for learning how to code through a black feminist lens. I am currently offering 1:1 coaching for black feminists looking to develop a coding portfolio of 5 projects in 15 weeks. Visit http://seedaschool.com to book a free consultation call where we’ll hop on Zoom to discuss your web development goals and how Seeda School might be able to help.

When I reflect on my 3 “biggest” and most recent struggles, the core struggle beneath them all is grappling with a sense of worthiness. For most of us, struggles with worthiness are seeded during childhood and while I won’t spend a whole lot of time talking childhood trauma I will get into the 3 growth areas I’m currently working through: Money Mindset, Receiving Love and Care, and Perfectionism. I will also share the new stories I’m telling myself rooted in worthiness, creating fertile soil for surrender and a harvest as wild and emergent as the love we’re cultivating for ourselves and each other.

You can find this podcast in all major podcast apps. I invite you to take a screenshot and share it on social media or with other black feminists who are also on a journey of finding softness inside technology.

Soft, Where? is a weekly podcast and oral journal where I reflect on finding softness inside of software engineering. I invite you to reflect on the questions at the end of each episode in the comments or via email. Below you can find a loose outline and essay version of the episode to read while you listen or share screenshots of on social media.

I also invite you to open this episode in apple podcasts or your preferred podcast streaming service. This makes it easy to take a screenshot and share it with friends, it also creates a private feed that is automatically updated when a new episode is released.

ALSO LOL at me saying all you need is to record a Zoom room meeting to make a podcast then me having spotty internet and glitchy audio at the end. The hubris! The arrogance! The comedy! Please extend grace y’all and I hope you enjoy. <3

Introduction

Hopefully this podcast episode will serve as a personal reminder to trust the timing in all things.

I’m currently in this business coaching program and one of the things they had us do is a check-in on our personal story and the stories we’re telling ourselves. This exercise is meant to emphasize we can CHOOSE the story we tell.

Because this is a business coaching program and not a life or spiritual coaching program they had us reflect on what was going on in our career or business at a series of checkpoints in the past, present, and the milestones we hope to hit in the future. Based on when I’m completing the assignment, here are the checkpoints and milestones I’m working with:

* 5 years ago (2017)

* 3 years ago (2019)

* 1 year ago (2021)

* This year (2022)

* 1 year from now (end of 2023)

* 3 years from now (end of 2025)

* 5 years from now (end of 2027)

5 Years Ago (2017)

* In January 2017 I attempted to relocate to New York for the 2nd time. I moved to New York. YAY! But not with enough money or a job to comfortably rent an apartment to support my mental health. Instead I was living in Bedstuy above a dive bar, inside a cluttered smelly apartment, living with a cat and a annoying roommate who didn't clean up after her cat.

* In retrospect I’m ultimately thankful for this time because I learned I could move to a new city by myself and figure it out while learning the city lifestyle I did and did not desire.

* From January to March 2017 I found a job as a restaurant manager, I was unknowingly incredibly depressed and was fired a few months later

* After being fired from my job and having to move back home with my parents, in the spring instead of spending the rest of the year feeling sorry and embarrassed for myself, I doubled down on my dream at the time of becoming a fashion designer and got orders from a couple of my favorite boutiques. One of them being Sincerely, Tommy.

* I took a chance and pitched the Brooklyn boutique on May 30th, 2017, on a wholesale partnership with Zaire Studio. I received an email back within minutes from the owner Kai, who wanted a lookbook, linesheet, and terms. My terms were accepted and I proceeded to cut, sew, and produce full size runs for their order from my parents living room and kitchen. I fulfilled the order by June 21st.

* I spent the rest of the year working retail part-time at another one of the stores, Redeem to support myself outside of the income from Zaire Studio. (Shout out to Lori who supported and encouraged me during this time)

3 Years Ago (BIG YEAR — 2019)

* In 2019, I was inside another dream of mine: Living and working in Brooklyn teaching software engineering full-time. I took the lessons from 2017 and made sure I had a job and stable income before moving this time.

* Toughest Moment: Once again living in New York and finding myself in the throws of overwhelming depression and anxiety, which came to a head when I had a sobbing mental breakdown in