As the world moves toward recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, we asked people in our community about a time they started over or started again. How did they recover and re-energize themselves in those situations? Over the next several weeks, we will share the stories of their #restart.
Deyane Moses earned a bachelor’s degree in photography from MICA in 2019 and is continuing graduate studies there in curatorial practice.
“Since graduating high school in 2004, I’ve hit the reset button on my life several times—sometimes by choice, other times by force. The biggest shift in my life came in 2011 when I was diagnosed with a neurological auto-immune disorder called multiple sclerosis (MS) at 25. I was devastated, scared, and enraged.
I sought counseling, and joined support groups for Black women with immune disorders. But the reality of slowly losing my mobility was unfathomable—I became depressed. But one day, my supervisor called me into his office and handed me a book, which read “We may have to wear the ugly dresses of chronic illness but we don’t have to be the ugly dresses.
“That changed my perspective. It allowed me to shift from angry to productive.”
And that changed my perspective. It allowed me to shift from angry to productive. Since then, I pursued my dream of becoming a photographer, and earned a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. In my time at MICA—where I’m now a graduate student—I’ve created The Maryland Institute Black Archives (MIBA), which uncovers MICA’s Black history. The project has created a collective awareness around institutional racism on the campus, Baltimore and broader art world.”
To share your story about a time that you chose to #restart, email our editor Jessica Gregg at [email protected].
