I wish to acknowledge that I live and work upon the lands of many Indigenous peoples including the Ohlone in the coastal region between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, and the Tataviam, Tongva, and Chumash peoples across the Santa Clarita Valley and Los Angeles Basin.

I honor their deep and ongoing relationship with the lands, waters, and ecosystems that continue to sustain life here.

I also acknowledge the more-than-human world: the redwoods, the coast live oaks, the rivers and creeks, the ocean, the fog, the soil, and all the living fauna who hold memory, language, and belonging of their own. This land does not belong to us or even solely to human hands; rather, we belong in relationship with it.

With gratitude, I honor the land as teacher, as kin, and as part of the living body of which we are all a part.

I want to acknowledge my family and loved ones who have believed in me and supported me in ways that have shaped my connection to love, my Mexican roots, and to the power of relationships with others and with myself. Without them, I would not know belonging in the same way.

And finally, I honor the unique opportunity to be here. To be part of this Earth, and to be free in the ongoing process of discovery, curiosity, and openness.