It doesn’t take much for us to make assumptions about people. But what is it exactly about attractive people that makes us automatically assume they are stuck up, think they’re all that, and just downright mean?
Is it because of our own experiences? Or are we simply taught to distrust beauty? At the end of the day, assumptions will only remain assumptions, if we aren’t brave enough to actually risk getting to know someone for ourselves.
And as Emanz proves, when our perception of someone is skewed, it isn’t always their fault. Sometimes the fault lies within us.
When people see me, I’ve been often told they assume I’m stuck up and mean. But I wish they would take the time to realize that I’m actually a very nice person, a good guy. I wish that they would realize that the confidence they see hasn’t come easy, especially growing between Jamaica and New York City for most of my life, and now having lived in Los Angeles for the past six years. The man that stands before them who is now confident got there through a lot of hard work and sacrifice–emotionally, mentally, and physically.
People look at me and find my looks striking, which is what has allowed me to be an aspiring model. But they don’t realize that with this beauty comes pain. I’ve been in positions where I had to do things just to survive. I’ve had to be sexual with people, such as counselors and even teachers, at a very young age. Now, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with using your beauty and assets to get what you want and need out of life. But it all comes at a cost, even when you don’t realize it.
When people see me, I’ve been often told they assume I’m stuck up and mean. But I wish they would take the time to realize that I’m actually a very nice person, a good guy.
I first started “paying” for my beauty when I was in high school. There was this photographer who always captured the football games and sporting events who said he wanted to shoot me. So, we went over to his home and we took a lot of photos. While I was there, he came on to me, but it made me uncomfortable. I told him I wasn’t okay with it.
But the more I thought about it, the less it felt like something wrong and more like an exchange; if I was getting something out of him, it was only right that he get something in return. I didn’t just consider it okay because we were both getting something out of it, though. There were also a lot of things going on at the time, such as me coming out to my family, which was very rough.
And although I wouldn’t necessarily agree that I was going to him for comfort, given all of the rejection and loneliness I was feeling at the time, I did think it felt great to know someone felt I deserved to be admired and even considered me handsome and beautiful.
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.