👋🏼 Yellow, World!

Given that it was Pride Month last month, I decided to make use of my queer privileges 🤭. You probably noticed there was no bulletin last month, but worry not—I'll make up for it with some pretty cool content this July.

As uzhe, I want to invite you to check in with your wonderful self. Take a breath and notice what’s moving through you—what two emotions are there? Maybe one that feels familiar and one that surprises you? You don’t need to hit reply, and if now isn’t a good time to answer, no problemo!

Before we dive into today’s “mini” issue 36.1, let me share something close to my heart—July is Disability Pride Month. If this feels new to you, I’d like to invite you to learn about the disabled community in your corner of the world.

Just like the human experience: not everything that shapes us is visible on the surface. This includes disability. Some folks live with dynamic disability, where symptoms fluctuate in type or severity. I want to use this moment to shine a light on someone incredibly dear to me who navigated this reality with such grace.

Meet Shei(la) Acuña. She lives with and autoimmune disorder and has been courageously sharing her journey on socials. I hope you’ll spend some time learning alongside Shei on Instagram—her voice deserves to be amplified. I love you, Shei! 💖

🎬 Behind the Scenes

Winter is officially here, bringing small pleasures in the shape of warm hot cocoa, sleeping in, and my favorite assortment of sweatshirts. Yes, seasonal depression is real, but so are our collective efforts to live through unprecedented times.

Perhaps the most unexpected joy this season has brought me is going back to unfinished business. Going back and rediscovering what past Rose was thinking, how to honor their process, and make them proud.

Here’s how it unfolded:
🥺 2020 Rose struggled to get their voice back—forever grateful to Diane from Chicago Voice Center.
✨ 2021 Rose rediscovered play and making—thank you Ale, Aáron Heard and the former team at Maker Ed.
🎲 2022 Rose made their biggest investment and bet on making voice and play an option for learners—thinking of you Ka, Doug, Jess, Talita, and Katt!
🏳️‍⚧️ 2023 Rose deepened their knowledge and love for voice exploration—merci, Renée Yoxon.
💭 2024 Rose reimagined voice and play (again) and became ever so enamored by voice work—thank you, Knight-Thompson Speechwork!
🔮 2025 Rose is betting on a future that builds learning experiences focused on voice and communication congruence—past Rose, you’ve come a long way.

And right now, that means two cool things: Thing #1 I’ve picked up my Trans Voice Alteration course again, honoring both 2022 Rose’s bet on making voice and play and option and 2024 Rose’s reimagining of voice work.

Thing #2 I’m also planning to build a create(ive) lab space—collaborative environments where voice and communication exploration can happen. If you’re curious about where you’re at in your own voice journey, I’d love to invite you for a virtual cafecito to chat about what resonates with you around voice work in a super casual, Spanglish-friendly setting. I’ll be hosting these conversations from July 15th until July 31st. Your insights will help shape what these spaces become. Let’s meet for a cafecito!

💎 Linguistic Gems

This linguistic gem will take you on a tour around the land of phonetics, then tell you a little alphabets story, and end with a resource that explains just how rooted in imperialism the writing system is. Ready? Press ▶️

The Vocal Fries - Writing Beyond Writing

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