“No se pasa nada, mi amor,” my grandma told me, as I laid in her arms covered in bruises and tears. Being the youngest in your family comes with perks, but when no adult is around, I found myself as my older cousin’s punching bag. Tears would run from my face, but they were not from sorrow, they were tears of anger. Angry that I was always getting beat up on and my 4-foot-nothing self always felt so helpless. Is that why I burn myself out training jiu-jitsu? To not let my younger self down? I won’t.
Joshua Rey Calistro is a Chicano writer based out of Los Angeles, California. He is an Indigenous man, who seeks to break down the barrier of masculinity by putting himself in the forefront of his work showcasing a vulnerability that is often taken as weakness. His work exemplifies the healing that is needed for men to be able to be comfortable with who they are, but also for what a man can be. He shows that it is okay to recognize trauma and insecurities, by putting those sentiments at the forefront of his work.
The Centifictionist 
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