Dear YouAligned Community,
As I sit down to write this month’s Letter From the Editor, I feel heavy. I always strive to bring encouragement to you – our community – but right now, the weight of the world is catching up to me. At the same time, I feel a quiet sense of hope for what this month invites us to remember.
June brings with it summer, Pride Month, Juneteenth, Men’s Mental Health Month, and Cancer Survivor Awareness Month — each a powerful reminder of our innate resilience and our right to live fully and freely, even when life feels overwhelming.
Pride honors the LGBTQ+ community, the gay liberation movement, and the ongoing fight for equality. Juneteenth, our country’s second Independence Day, commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. As dear friend and teacher Reggie Hubbard says, “we must NEVER forget the triumph of the human spirit and human rights that is our birthright and our responsibility to defend.”
The shift in seasons, combined with the immense significance behind these celebrations, has me reflecting on a few stories about the human spirit that I feel called to share.
When I was 19, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. I was lucky to catch it early but being faced with my own mortality – the fear, uncertainty, pain and shame I carried shook me to my core. Yet that experience shaped me, strengthened me, and reminded me to never take anything for granted. To everyone impacted by cancer – your courage and resilience inspire, and your story matters.
My auntie is one of my best friends. As a lesbian now in her 60’s, she has experienced decades of discrimination, harassment, and injustice. In the 80’s she worked at a gay resort and witnessed the horrors of the AIDS epidemic. She watched many of her friends die of AIDS, often without their families, who had exiled them for being gay. Since I was young, we’ve walked the AIDS Walk together to honor their memory. I’ve watched her break gender barriers in her roles as one of the country’s first female linemen (challenging them to change the title of this position), and again in law enforcement. Her story – and those of so many in the LGBTQ+ community – reflects the power of perseverance and the resilience of the human spirit.
Jeff Wyman recently wrote: “In the complex fabric of human experience, the indelible human spirit stands as a beacon of resilience, perseverance, and unyielding strength. It is the intangible force that propels individuals forward in the face of daunting challenges, illuminating the path toward hope and triumph.”
There’s a theme this month: reflection and acknowledgement, celebration and awareness.
Reflect on the immeasurable power of joy and celebration as a revolutionary act – and acknowledge how we all hold a responsibility to not just protect and hold sacred, but to continue demonstrating our relentless human spirit. June calls us to celebrate with awareness and the intention to not give up. When the pressure feels like too much, double down on your care, on joy, and on rising anyway.
Thank you for being here and taking the time to read this. My deepest hope is that these letters offer a glimmer of light, a moment of pause, a reminder that you are not alone as we keep walking each other home.
With deep gratitude,
Ashton August, Founder of YouAligned.com and YA Classes
