Navigating a system I spent my teens and 20s vigorously avoiding is deeply humbling. I am now aware of judgements I did not know I held about single motherhood and recipients of assistance. I am aware of the shame I always attached to mothers and children sharing different last names. I find myself wanting to explain, so the observer doesn't see "just another welfare queen" or "single black mother."
I know, however, that there's something for me to learn in this seat of discomfort. I know that perception and truth is often different. And if I root myself in truth, why be swayed by perception?
