he Asexual Bards Parable! You presume I’ll sing of breasts and fornication Of succulent phalluses to feed your rapacious imagination Oh what’s this bolge? Oh why it’s gold! You think I’m stacked; true I am with clams polished pearls they hold! Well, in my wettest fantasies, I play with an octopus in his garden beneath the sea As a wild shaped octopus together, we’ll play and see How small a whole we can wiggle through Into the tinies crevasse in the big wide blue! So, calm your tits Leave be your dicks Perk up your ears let rest your hands To hear of tales so grand Of mountains tall, and forests which breath, of beaches with pure white sand Of dragons large, and dungeons deep, daring adventures cross sea and land! Oh….! I’d rather sing of dragons, their wit, and mounts of gold! of enthralling mysteries, and ancient prophesies once foretold and melodies of victories, triumph! Trials overcome! For life’s a rhapsody o joy n pain a growth that build what we’ll become. There’s more to the adventure, than wealth and conquests won Those aren’t the things you’ll hold most dear, when life’s quest’s finished and done. So please, please, please get of your knees and quell that raging libido! Hear this legend, look behold this storied sgraffito Here etched in marble stone A monument to a lost dynasty their king dead dethroned You see his wealth had grown so enlarged All the kingdoms rode green with greed his castle charged! Great balls of fire burned the wooden portcullis, the once great gate now penetrated The king was slain, his court cut down, his wife beside him prostrate, her color ashen, faded his foes then bursting with excitement marched to seize the treasures down below to stone hewn vault, they came, only to find a wall with na’re a crack, no hinge no key hole! so pickaxes began banging, so they banged and banged and banged some more but for naught there was no scratch they’d made no score no fire, no puzzle cracked, not even dark magics whispered, forbidden for all their wits and all their brawn, they never would get in For all their greed they could not reach the treasures held within Now listen in for the real story now begins! I tell the tale of treasures worth more than platinum Tune in with open minds and hearts take heed of the divine axiom! For the incisors didn’t know of the love wind praise bestowed upon the kings progeny. Oh so sad a fable, legend. Turned false prophesy. For in the end naught was gained but many lost! And for their greed and lasciviousness the tragic cost. I’m Arethmea the asexual bard! Here to leach you the truth of life Reminding you to soften your member. Sharpen your wit and sword! There’s a whole world that thirst for a savior So be a hero and let he people drink up their safety. You presume I’ll sing of breasts and fornication Of succulent phalluses to feed your rapacious imagination Oh what’s this bolge? Oh why it’s gold! You think I’m stacked; true I am with clams polished pearls they hold! But now we’ve learned that in list and greed don’t our lives Adventure forth with love and go save hearts and minds!!

When I think ahead to the future there are a lot of unknowns. Nobody knows what tomorrow will hold, but that should not stop anyone from diligently putting in the work every day to reach one’s goals, one’s dreams. By the time I aged out of the foster care system at 18, my former foster family had convinced me thoroughly that I was a troubled teen who needed to check myself into residential treatment for troubled youth. All the programs I looked into required a full-time commitment and those who were admitted were required to get their GED rather than attend high school in person. Nowhere accepted me because the truth was, I wasn’t troubled, I was just autistic, and struggling with undiagnosed PTSD from years of neglect and sexual abuse at the hands of my birth-mother and my brother’s special education teacher. The teacher’s abuse caused me to conceive and miscarry a child. It is that child’s honor that I dedicate myself to one day be the best special education teacher I can be. He may be evil, but I will be force for good. When I went to school to withdraw, I suddenly had a whole team of people telling me that I was okay, great even, imploring me not to stifle my potential, and prepared to walk beside me no matter what it took to make sure I graduated high school with a diploma and could walk across that graduation stage with pride. Through their encouragement and support, I was able to graduate high school with a 3.8GPA and top 15% of my graduating class of over 800. I was also president of Asian American Association, had amassed 300 community service hours and was working upwards of 20 hours a week. On top of all that on my two days off from work I didn’t have time to study or relax because on Thursdays I had visitation with my brother, then women’s Bible study, and on Sundays, I was the 2-year-old Sunday School teacher for two services. I even had to move back in with my abusive mother, lest I face homelessness. Graduating high school at all was a miracle. When I walked across the stage that May when it came my turn to shake the principles hand and take my diploma, he pulled me in for an embrace, and told me how incredibly proud he was of me, and I was just as proud of myself. If it were not for my amazing teachers and principal, I never would have had the chance to walk across that stage with pride. My teachers inspired me never to give up on myself and to strive for greatness. Thus, my dream, which I will achieve, no matter what the future tries to throw at me, is to become a special education teacher at a middle or high school for disadvantaged, and or behaviorally challenged youth. I know what it is like to have all odds stacked against you, but to have someone come into your life to lift you up. I know what it is like to nearly fail. I have no way of knowing if I will mange to make a positive difference in a student’s life, but I have no doubt that someday I will be ready to take up the call if ever given the immense honor. It may take me longer than most to get there as due to circumstances it has taken me 6 years to get my associates degree, but I will make it no matter how long it takes me and no matter how steep and treacherous the hill I must climb I will get a masters in special education. Someday I will sit at the front of that classroom, looking unwaveringly into the distracted, perhaps apathetic eyes of my students with my heart open, hands ready to pull them up and embolden them, not to change or save the world…. but if they’re ready, to fight for themselves and maybe… just maybe they can change their lives for the better. Throughout my life I have faced numerous challenges in my educational journey, English is not my first literate language, I am learning disabled, diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, PTSD, anxiety, am hard of hearing, and am now in a wheelchair due to having a weak heart, I went to 14 different schools in 2 different countries, with 5 different families, and was in both kindergarten, and the 3rd grade twice. I even almost didn’t get my high school diploma. I am a first-generation college student, a former foster youth and am working nights to fund my education. My poor heart forces me to allocate my energy wisely but I know every ounce of energy I put into my education is worthwhile. My journey to higher education has been tumultuous and unpredictable, but across all those years, trials, and tribulations, one thing has been consistent. One thing has always kept me going and never let me quit even when the odds seemed insurmountable. That one thing has been my teachers. No matter where I went, or which country or state I was in, no matter how well funded the school was, I always had amazing and dedicated teachers who saw my potential, and saw me for who I was, am and could be, not just for my challenges, disadvantages, and limitations. They are my heroes, and someday no matter how long it takes, I will be in their shoes even if I never manage to fill them. Thanks to my teachers I know I am kind, compassionate, highly intelligent, patient, a great public speaker, and amazing at explaining things in a way that others can understand. I also carry myself in a way that puts others at ease. In essence, I am perfectly suited to teach, and all the challenges I have faced and still face allow unique insight into the lives of students who are struggling. This gives me tools and empathy others do not have which I will use to pull students up to reach their potential and be their best or at least better selves. I am a living testament, proof of the incredible difference a teacher can make for a student who may otherwise slip through the cracks. I still face challenges, but those challenges continue to empower me never to give up. I have had countless teachers who have and still believe in me, and I will not let them down. I know not everyone is destined for higher education, but I know that I am. I am here now, studying and working hard because I know that someday I will be a special education teacher and my ultimate dream is that my students will succeed and be a living testament to the amazing teachers that have lifted me up to have the honor to lift others up to reach their full actualized potential. More specifically I plan on teaching special education in Japan, because as a visibly disabled individual, I have the power to inspire Japanese disabled students to believe they can do great things in life. There is disability stigma in Japan I will change that!

It may take me longer than most to get there as due to circumstances it has taken me 6 years to get my associates degree, but I will make it no matter how long it takes me and no matter how steep and treacherous the hill I must climb I will get a masters in special education. Someday I will sit at the front of that classroom, looking unwaveringly into the distracted, perhaps apathetic eyes of my students with my heart open, hands ready to pull them up and embolden them, not to change or save the world…. but if they’re ready, to fight for themselves and maybe… just maybe they can change their lives for the better. Throughout my life I have faced numerous challenges in my educational journey, English is not my first literate language, I am learning disabled, diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, PTSD, anxiety, am hard of hearing, and am now in a wheelchair due to having a weak heart, I went to 14 different schools in 2 different countries, with 5 different families, and was in both kindergarten, and the 3rd grade twice. I even almost didn’t get my high school diploma. I am a first-generation college student, a former foster youth and am working nights to fund my education. My poor heart forces me to allocate my energy wisely but I know every ounce of energy I put into my education is worthwhile. My journey to higher education has been tumultuous and unpredictable, but across all those years, trials, and tribulations, one thing has been consistent. One thing has always kept me going and never let me quit even when the odds seemed insurmountable. That one thing has been my teachers. No matter where I went, or which country or state I was in, no matter how well funded the school was, I always had amazing and dedicated teachers who saw my potential, and saw me for who I was, am and could be, not just for my challenges, disadvantages, and limitations. They are my heroes, and someday no matter how long it takes, I will be in their shoes even if I never manage to fill them. Thanks to my teachers I know I am kind, compassionate, highly intelligent, patient, a great public speaker, and amazing at explaining things in a way that others can understand. I also carry myself in a way that puts others at ease. In essence, I am perfectly suited to teach, and all the challenges I have faced and still face allow unique insight into the lives of students who are struggling. This gives me tools and empathy others do not have which I will use to pull students up to reach their potential and be their best or at least better selves. I am a living testament, proof of the incredible difference a teacher can make for a student who may otherwise slip through the cracks. I still face challenges, but those challenges continue to empower me never to give up. I have had countless teachers who have and still believe in me, and I will not let them down. I know not everyone is destined for higher education, but I know that I am. I am here now, studying and working hard because I know that someday I will be a special education teacher and my ultimate dream is that my students will succeed and be a living testament to the amazing teachers that have lifted me up to have the honor to lift others up to reach their full actualized potential.

My life has been a great paradox, an antithesis of joy and pain; it has been a journey of hardship juxtaposed with finding happiness in the midst of trial. I have learned that life isn’t fair but that there is greatness in making the best of your circumstances no matter what they are. And that one can find joy in any situation or hardship. When I was 7 years old my mom began having seizures and I watched the mom whom I had looked up to and admired dissolve into a sick suicidal mess. I remember holding onto her hand as she convulsed on the floor and telling her she would be okay that I loved her and it was all going to be okay. It was around this time that I began to find it harder to never lose track of joy. At precisely when I was losing grasp of hope mom, my brother and I met a team of missionaries who invited us to their church. We were living in the remote countryside of Japan at the time and that is where I came to know Jesus. He is the one who sustains my soul and gives me strength in the midst of trials through which I could never survive on my own. Jesus is with me always. He was with me when I was separated from my brother at 9. He was with me when my mom stopped feeding me and I was forced to fend for myself. He was with me when I forgot how to find joy. When I got down so low I wanted to end my life at 13 years old. He was with me when I was hurled into foster care and my foster parents were abusive. Despite the abuse I would not let my spirit be crushed. I turned to God and prayed to Him for strength. Joy can be found in any circumstance and Christ is the one who sustains it. Christ is the reason I am still alive today. Jesus is the one who filled my heart with joy when all I could see was sadness. Jesus is the one who picks me off the floor when I am comfortable in the pit and the muck and mar of my trail. He is the reason I can stand here today and tell you not that it gets better because it may or may not, but that there is joy oh so much joy for those who search for it and are determined to find it. Some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouth I was born with a an indomitable determination to “never give up and never quit” because there is nothing I cannot overcome in Christ Jesus my Lord and Savior. My story isn’t over and my future may be filled with more pain but I know that there is beauty in pain but I know it will Always be filled with Joy unspeakable joy.

I love all animals but my favorite species are cats, snakes, and spiders. My eldest cat is Galadriel, she is my wonderful roomate and friend! She is the orange and white queen! Adult cats in shelters are the hardest to find homes for so my family adopted Galadriel because we had a connection and she’s been in the shelter for over 4 months! The floofs collectively are the black kitty named Susu-Watari and Swiss the tabby are my babies because they think I’m their mom. I rescued them from a car engine and bottle fed them they’re very cuddly!

It may take me longer than most to get there as due to circumstances it has taken me 6 years to get my associates degree, but I will make it no matter how long it takes me and no matter how steep and treacherous the hill I must climb I will get a masters in special education. Someday I will sit at the front of that classroom, looking unwaveringly into the distracted, perhaps apathetic eyes of my students with my heart open, hands ready to pull them up and embolden them, not to change or save the world…. but if they’re ready, to fight for themselves and maybe… just maybe they can change their lives for the better. Throughout my life I have faced numerous challenges in my educational journey, English is not my first literate language, I am learning disabled, diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, PTSD, anxiety, am hard of hearing, and am now in a wheelchair due to having a weak heart, I went to 14 different schools in 2 different countries, with 5 different families, and was in both kindergarten, and the 3rd grade twice. I even almost didn’t get my high school diploma. I am a first-generation college student, a former foster youth and am working nights to fund my education. My poor heart forces me to allocate my energy wisely but I know every ounce of energy I put into my education is worthwhile. My journey to higher education has been tumultuous and unpredictable, but across all those years, trials, and tribulations, one thing has been consistent. One thing has always kept me going and never let me quit even when the odds seemed insurmountable. That one thing has been my teachers. No matter where I went, or which country or state I was in, no matter how well funded the school was, I always had amazing and dedicated teachers who saw my potential, and saw me for who I was, am and could be, not just for my challenges, disadvantages, and limitations. They are my heroes, and someday no matter how long it takes, I will be in their shoes even if I never manage to fill them. Thanks to my teachers I know I am kind, compassionate, highly intelligent, patient, a great public speaker, and amazing at explaining things in a way that others can understand. I also carry myself in a way that puts others at ease. In essence, I am perfectly suited to teach, and all the challenges I have faced and still face allow unique insight into the lives of students who are struggling. This gives me tools and empathy others do not have which I will use to pull students up to reach their potential and be their best or at least better selves. I am a living testament, proof of the incredible difference a teacher can make for a student who may otherwise slip through the cracks. I still face challenges, but those challenges continue to empower me never to give up. I have had countless teachers who have and still believe in me, and I will not let them down. I know not everyone is destined for higher education, but I know that I am. I am here now, studying and working hard because I know that someday I will be a special education teacher and my ultimate dream is that my students will succeed and be a living testament to the amazing teachers that have lifted me up to have the honor to lift others up to reach their full actualized potential.

It may take me longer than most to get there as due to circumstances it has taken me 6 years to get my associates degree, but I will make it no matter how long it takes me and no matter how steep and treacherous the hill I must climb I will get a masters in special education. Someday I will sit at the front of that classroom, looking unwaveringly into the distracted, perhaps apathetic eyes of my students with my heart open, hands ready to pull them up and embolden them, not to change or save the world…. but if they’re ready, to fight for themselves and maybe… just maybe they can change their lives for the better. Throughout my life I have faced numerous challenges in my educational journey, English is not my first literate language, I am learning disabled, diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, PTSD, anxiety, am hard of hearing, and am now in a wheelchair due to having a weak heart, I went to 14 different schools in 2 different countries, with 5 different families, and was in both kindergarten, and the 3rd grade twice. I even almost didn’t get my high school diploma. I am a first-generation college student, a former foster youth and am working nights to fund my education. My poor heart forces me to allocate my energy wisely but I know every ounce of energy I put into my education is worthwhile. My journey to higher education has been tumultuous and unpredictable, but across all those years, trials, and tribulations, one thing has been consistent. One thing has always kept me going and never let me quit even when the odds seemed insurmountable. That one thing has been my teachers. No matter where I went, or which country or state I was in, no matter how well funded the school was, I always had amazing and dedicated teachers who saw my potential, and saw me for who I was, am and could be, not just for my challenges, disadvantages, and limitations. They are my heroes, and someday no matter how long it takes, I will be in their shoes even if I never manage to fill them. Thanks to my teachers I know I am kind, compassionate, highly intelligent, patient, a great public speaker, and amazing at explaining things in a way that others can understand. I also carry myself in a way that puts others at ease. In essence, I am perfectly suited to teach, and all the challenges I have faced and still face allow unique insight into the lives of students who are struggling. This gives me tools and empathy others do not have which I will use to pull students up to reach their potential and be their best or at least better selves. I am a living testament, proof of the incredible difference a teacher can make for a student who may otherwise slip through the cracks. I still face challenges, but those challenges continue to empower me never to give up. I have had countless teachers who have and still believe in me, and I will not let them down. I know not everyone is destined for higher education, but I know that I am. I am here now, studying and working hard because I know that someday I will be a special education teacher and my ultimate dream is that my students will succeed and be a living testament to the amazing teachers that have lifted me up to have the honor to lift others up to reach their full actualized potential.

By the time I aged out of the foster care system at 18, my former foster family had convinced me thoroughly that I was a troubled teen who needed to check myself into residential treatment for troubled youth. All the programs I looked into required a full-time commitment and those who were admitted were required to get their GED rather than attend high school in person. Nowhere accepted me because the truth was, I wasn’t troubled, I was just autistic, and struggling with undiagnosed PTSD from years of neglect and sexual abuse at the hands of my birth-mother and my brother’s special education teacher. The teacher’s abuse caused me to conceive and miscarry a child. It is that child’s honor that I dedicate myself to one day be the best special education teacher I can be. He may be evil, but I will be force for good. When I went to school to withdraw, I suddenly had a whole team of people telling me that I was okay, great even, imploring me not to stifle my potential, and prepared to walk beside me no matter what it took to make sure I graduated high school with a diploma and could walk across that graduation stage with pride. Through their encouragement and support, I was able to graduate high school with a 3.8GPA and top 15% of my graduating class of over 800. I was also president of Asian American Association, had amassed 300 community service hours and was working upwards of 20 hours a week. On top of all that on my two days off from work I didn’t have time to study or relax because on Thursdays I had visitation with my brother, then women’s Bible study, and on Sundays, I was the 2-year-old Sunday School teacher for two services. I even had to move back in with my abusive mother, lest I face homelessness. Graduating high school at all was a miracle. When I walked across the stage that May when it came my turn to shake the principles hand and take my diploma, he pulled me in for an embrace, and told me how incredibly proud he was of me, and I was just as proud of myself. If it were not for my amazing teachers and principal, I never would have had the chance to walk across that stage with pride. My teachers inspired me never to give up on myself and to strive for greatness. Thus, my dream, which I will achieve, no matter what the future tries to throw at me, is to become a special education teacher at a middle or high school for disadvantaged, and or behaviorally challenged youth. I know what it is like to have all odds stacked against you, but to have someone come into your life to lift you up. I know what it is like to nearly fail. I have no way of knowing if I will mange to make a positive difference in a student’s life, but I have no doubt that someday I will be ready to take up the call if ever given the immense honor. I know what it’s like to the the foster kid who’s foster parents thought would go nowhere in life. They told me so to my face. After hearing I was destined to be a failure again and again for three years I began to believe it too. It was thanks to the amazing support of my teachers that I realized the truth. I am not a mess up or failure. Their legacy is one I will continue!

Someday I will sit at the front of that classroom, looking unwaveringly into the distracted, perhaps apathetic eyes of my students with my heart open, hands ready to pull them up and embolden them, not to change or save the world…. But if they’re ready to fight for themselves maybe… just maybe they can change their lives for the better. Throughout my life I have faced numerous challenges in my educational journey, English is not my first literate language, I am learning disabled, diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, PTSD, anxiety, am hard of hearing, and am now in a wheelchair due to having a weak heart, I went to 14 different schools in 2 different countries, with 5 different families, and was in both kindergarten, and the 3rd grade twice. I even almost didn’t get my high school diploma. I am a first-generation college student, and a foster youth and am working to fund my education. My journey to higher education has been tumultuous and unpredictable, but across all those years, trials, and tribulations, one thing has been consistent. One thing has always kept me going and never let me quit even when the odds seemed insurmountable. That one thing has been my teachers. No matter where I went, or which country or state I was in, no matter how well funded the school was, I always had amazing and dedicated teachers who saw my potential, and saw me for who I was, am and could be, not just for my challenges and potential limitations. They are my heroes, and someday no matter how long it takes, I will be in their shoes even if I never manage to fill them. Thanks to my teachers I know I am kind, compassionate, highly intelligent, patient, a great public speaker, and amazing at explaining things in a way that others can understand. In essence, I am, perfectly suited to teach others, and all the challenges I have faced and still face allow unique insight into the lives of students who are struggling. This gives me tools and empathy others do not have which I will use to pull students up to be their reach their potential and be their best or at least better selves. I am a living testament, a living advertisement to the incredible difference a teacher can make for a student who may otherwise slip through the cracks. I still face challenges, but those challenges continue to empower me never to give up. I have had countless teachers who have and still believe in me, and I will not let them down. Not everyone is destined for higher education, but I know that I am, studying and working hard because I know that someday I will be a special education teacher and my ultimate dream is that my students will succeed and be a living advertisement to the amazing teachers that have lifted me up to have the honor to lift others up to reach their full actualized potential.