How I self-heal

I woke up and the despair of another black man losing his body at the hands of police loomed over me like a raincloud with no sunny days in the forecast for years to come. I thought to myself, “The world is too much.”

I sat down on the floor of my apartment and let the light from the windows beam down on me. Frank Ocean played on my laptop, his song “Nights” in particular, and all social media was put away. It was time to heal.

I’ve been through this before. I embody self-healing through drinking green tea, which relaxes me, and reading a good book — right now It’s Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, which stimulates me. I burn incense and tidy up my space. I take a few moments throughout the process to lay flat on the floor to meditate and cleanse. It is in this time that I listen to what my mind, spirit and body need, and give in return. This is how I recover.

In the black community, the healing process, or recovering, is becoming everyday routine — a way to cope. Healing has many faces and bodies. I know people who set up crystals and burn sage and I know people who call a friend over to watch Netflix. No matter what your body of healing entails, practice it like a high school athlete. It will come to be your greatest force.

Bernie Williams is a senior majoring in English with a concentration in media, cultural and rhetoric studies. She hopes to practice and master an assortment of mediums, including screenwriting, writing for the New York Times, lifestyle blogging, fiction and radio broadcasting. Bernie has a passion for creating and sharing stories. The heightened diversity of the city atmosphere surrounding UIC is perfect for her. Bernie’s side hobbies are indulging in TV shows (specifically Scandal, Girls and Law and Order: SVU), interior design and Instagram.