Brandon, an early-thirtysomething from Denver, CO, is a loner with light. He’s comfortable dancing to the beat of his own drum, making up a few steps along the way. But like so many guys, such a commitment is far from easy.
Behind the golden skin and hazel-brown eyes is a guy on a journey. To figure out how to be who he is. To be 100% comfortable in the skin he is in. To heal the emotional and mental scars and insecurities that plague him.
His mother has a saying, “I can’t be anyone else other than who I am. And if you don’t like me, you don’t like me.” And as Brandon explains, “That’s the kind of person my mom has made me out to be. I can’t be who I’m not. Being autonomous and being who I am authentically is who I am, and I can’t be who I am not.”
That’s why we have so much we can learn from Brandon. Because whether we want to admit it or not, we all want to be accepted, no matter how different we are. We all want to be seen for the beautiful, creative, and passionate individuals we know ourselves to be. Brandon is committed to a path of self-discovery, and he urges us to go on our own flow. To become the kind of person that walks in our truth, changing ourselves–and the world around us–for the better.
In 2019, Keith F. Miller, Jr., observed something remarkable while running creative writing after school programs in Savannah, GA: Students from all backgrounds didn’t just step outside their comfort zones—they learned, led, and thrived with unmistakable joy. Despite this, Keith heard from students and families that school, even for the high-achievers, was a place they survived, not thrived. This led Keith, through his studies in Educational Psychology, to explore why young people felt empowered to learn, lead, and heal in some spaces but not in others.
Through a qualitative research study involving interviews with high schoolers, fellow teaching artists over a year, in addition to examining creative works from youth journals and performances, Keith found that when young people engage in arts-based healing practices with trusted others (peers and adults), they don’t just cope with their struggles—they transform them, becoming vibrant leaders in the process.
Drawing inspiration from the process of rainbow formation—reflection, refraction, and dispersion—and building off of groundbreaking research from scholars like David Kirkland, Gholdy Muhammad, Bettina Love, Bianca Baldridge, and Shawn Ginwright, Keith developed the Healing Literacy Framework, illustrating how arts-based, community programs are vital in supporting young people as they overcome educational trauma, and, in doing so, can result in transformative partnerships in school and beyond that prove healing is possible for everyone.
Enter, HEALIT
In 2019, Keith F. Miller, Jr., observed something remarkable while running creative writing after school programs in Savannah, GA: Students from all backgrounds didn’t just step outside their comfort zones—they learned, led, and thrived with unmistakable joy. Despite this, Keith heard from students and families that school, even for the high-achievers, was a place they survived, not thrived. This led Keith, through his studies in Educational Psychology, to explore why young people felt empowered to learn, lead, and heal in some spaces but not in others.
Through a qualitative research study involving interviews with high schoolers, fellow teaching artists over a year, in addition to examining creative works from youth journals and performances, Keith found that when young people engage in arts-based healing practices with trusted others (peers and adults), they don’t just cope with their struggles—they transform them, becoming vibrant leaders in the process.
Drawing inspiration from the process of rainbow formation—reflection, refraction, and dispersion—and building off of groundbreaking research from scholars like David Kirkland, Gholdy Muhammad, Bettina Love, Bianca Baldridge, and Shawn Ginwright, Keith developed the Healing Literacy Framework, illustrating how arts-based, community programs are vital in supporting young people as they overcome educational trauma, and, in doing so, can result in transformative partnerships in school and beyond that prove healing is possible for everyone.
Keith F. Miller, Jr.
