Memo 1 - Project Start!
What is DreamWork?
Bienvenidx!
Hey Y’all! I am ío Marquez and this is DreamWork, a newsletter about everything related to new ways of working and staying sane at YOUR job in these challenging times.
Who am I?
I’m an artist, a worker, a manager (!) and a nonprofit professional (!!). I’ve been in the nonprofit world for the last 11 years, a manager for the last 21 years and an artist since the day I was born. I super love training, teaching and facilitating for adults and I adore using historical context to create a more enlightened present. I believe in using trauma informed practices in all parts of life and I strive to get better at that every day. I’ve been solidly in 12 step recovery for the last 9 years learning how to better handle my work, feelings, money, thoughts and relationships.
Here’s some more facts about me:
I am a nonbinary dÿke and have been working with and for the LGBTQ+ Community for seven years.
I identify as a fat person and as a fat liberationist.
I am deeply spiritual but don’t ascribe to any religions.
I am a late-in-life student returning to art school in hopes of becoming the first person in my nuclear family to have a degree.
My name is pronounced ee-oh.
I believe the job of an artist is to share their viewpoint about the world through art in hopes that it might help someone else.
I have a very sweet 13-year-old terrier chihuahua named Huxley
The only video games I really like to play are Stardew Valley and The Sims
My favorite movie is The Fifth Element
Why Tho?
I have been obsessed with the topic of better workplaces because I believe work *can* be better for everyone. After years of working and managing teams (and teaching on anti-oppression topics) I’ve seen how many of us show up to jobs that ask us to shrink, rush or hide who we are just to fit in so that we can keep our jobs and survive this life.
I have met so many people who have to code switch to keep up appearances at work, tone down their beautiful strengths so they don’t intimidate others (think downplaying expertise in a specific area), overwork to keep up appearances or mask to avoid people learning about their neurodivergence. Performing any of these examples makes work more exhausting than it has to be.
So, what if we could redefine "professional" in a way that honors who we are, our natural energy levels and what quality of work we make?
I’m also writing for everyone who’s ever thought, *"Excuse me? This can’t be all there is??". Like, maybe you’re exhausted and on the verge of burnout or maybe you’re just starting out in the workforce or maybe you’re a manager trying not to repeat the workplace trauma that was inflicted on you in jobs past. Wherever you are, this is an invitation to imagine more, have a better time and build the kind of work that leaves us, and the people around us, more alive.
AND, I don’t think we have to tear everything down to do it. Like persistent vines in a dystopian, sci-fi-esque, post apocalyptic city, I think we can just grow more humanity in the spaces we are already in. Even if those spaces are feeling busted.
I want to help people discover their power to push back, set boundaries and reshape their workplaces in small ways that can add up to large change. I think there is a world where what we do doesn’t have to drain us, but fills us with energy and maybe even joy. And I think we just have to tap into it.
What would our lives be like if work didn’t have to hurt?
What are we gonna cover?
I am so glad you asked! I hope to have guests, special topics, photos and stories about people’s best work fashion and decor, which types of workplaces might be doomed, who actually loves their jobs and much more! I would also LOVE to hear from you: what types of topics do you want covered?? Leave me a comment letting me know what ideas you have!
Gratitude
It’s IMPERATIVE that I don’t forget to shoutout Corinne Fay from Big Undies and Leo Aquino from Queer and Trans Wealth for their encouragement and support in helping me get started! You two are a lifeline and I am so lucky to have friends like you.
Wooow, thank you for reading my very first newsletter ever! Writing this I am feeling grateful and proud! I’m soooo excited we’re going on this journey together.
Stay soft and have a very gentle monday!
What kind of topics and content would you like to see?
Ah! Wow, thank you for the shoutout! I’m honored. I’m genuinely excited to read your writing about work and how and why it’s so hard. 💜
Reading this first thing Monday morning was gold! I loved the sci fi/nature growth analogy. Excited to ponder and dream more through your posts.