I went to an immersive art installation in East Williamsburg tonight only because it featured The 1975. And as you know, they are my guiding star.

It’s called UNDERCURRENT, and it’s “a new event that immerses visitors in over 11 original audiovisual art installations, created by influential musicians to inspire positive impact around the Climate Crisis.”

The exhibit was tied into the United Nations climate change conference here this week. Tonight was the last night.

If you know me, you know that The 1975 rebooted my life. They got me here to NYC. They grew with me as my life changed. And then they had fellow autistic Greta Thunberg on their last album. And now, as I start to make moves to apply to grad school in museum studies, The 1975 has an art exhibit in a very groovy, very inspiring show.

I went by myself, completely anxious from pain. But by the end of the exhibit, I was calm, grateful, and inspired. The 1975 exhibit was Greta’s track off the album with visuals. I loved every single exhibit. And I got to talk to one of the ushers, Manuela. Her favorite exhibit was The 1975. She said it made her cry. It moved me to hear how it moved her.

This is why I want to get a masters in Museum Studies.

This move feels right to me. I want to be a part of change for good. Writing is part of it. Performing is part of it. Creating multimedia performances is part of it too. But now there’s an opportunity carved out of so many life experiences and interests for me to amplify my voice. Whatever comes my way, I’m going to welcome it. I’ve learned that this is how my life unfolds. With tiny electric impulses that make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck and then the courage to follow those impulses to unforeseen places.

The last book I read was The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. The main character, a fictionalized version of abolitionist and feminist Sarah Moore Grimké, really spoke to me.

Grimké’s the one who said:

I ask no favors for my sex. I surrender not our claim to equality. All I ask of our brethren is, that they will take their feet from off our necks, and permit us to stand upright on that ground which God designed us to occupy.

The author was inspired to write about Grimké after visiting the Brooklyn Museum in 2007. The exhibit she saw was called The Dinner Party.

The museum is about a mile and a half from me and I knew the exhibit because I’ve seen it. Because I moved here. Because this was the right place for me.

I know a thing or two about looking for inspiration. Just taking everything in like a baleen whale and filtering the plankton.

But what about the other side? Curating exhibits that will spark inspiration in artists? This is the dialogue that interests me. I can be a writer and curator. That’s what I’ve been doing with Instagram.

This past winter, all I wanted to do was create safe spaces for artists to interact. This is a way to do it, as well as get paid for lifelong learning, and guarantee that I get to live in thriving cities that appreciate museums and art galleries.