Hyperion Community, LLC

Join us at Found Family Thanksgiving this Saturday, November 23rd from 1 to 4PM at First Congregational Church in Greeley. Performance at 3PM. There will be tons of great food including quality vegan and gluten free options, a take home art project, a clothing swap, and more!

Don't forget about these two amazing events happening today in Greeley for the LGBTQIA+ community!

Found Family Thanksgiving 2024

Greeley Does Drag

Join JEDI Advocacy Council of Greeley tonight for Rainbow Connections! 🥰🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

You are seen. You are valued. You are welcomed.

Have you ever heard of a Thanksgiving after party? Well, you're in luck! On November 23rd, join our friends over at JEDI Advocacy Council of Greeley for Found Family Thanksgiving 2024. Then boogie on over to GREELEY DOES DRAG! @ Syntax Distillery! This can be a rough time of year for many in our community. Join us for a day of camaraderie, affirmation, and love! WE'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!

Way to go, Colorado! 🥰🥳🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Grieve. Cry. Scream. Create. Take up space. Please do what you need for self-care and survival. Just don't forget to BREATHE. Please do not let anyone (including yourself) convince you that you are not fit to take another breath. You MUST go on. No one else can be you, so you've gotta stick around, okay?

Did you know that the Colorado Constitution still outlaws gay marriage? It is so important to vote, vote, VOTE! With so many politicians currently working to repeal laws at both the federal and state levels, rights like marriage equality, reproductive rights, and gender-affirming care are at risk!

⏰ It’s time to remove the outdated ban on same-sex marriage from our state constitution, and you can this November by voting YES on Amendment J on your ballot.

You might think: “Why do we need to worry about protecting same-sex marriage if it’s legal in the United States?” The Supreme Court ruling that protects same-sex marriage at the federal level isn’t guaranteed forever. Recently, the Supreme Court has reversed many long-standing protections—from abortion access to voting rights. We can’t rely on politicized courts alone. We need to ensure our rights are protected at the state level. And right now, they are not.

Ready to take the next step and help fuel our work? Donate today to support our work with Freedom to Marry Colorado: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/rmeq

I am a storyteller. When I facilitate training for businesses, I share personal experiences in the hopes that people will remember them when they are working with students, clients, patrons, etc who may be going through similar struggles. To remember to see the humanity in the humans they serve and work with.

Today, I'd like to share my experience with having Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Having ADHD, productivity can be a double-edged sword because the ways in which I am productive are not always the ways in which I MEANT to be productive on any given day. I'd like to illustrate that point with the ways in which I was productive today. Journey with me, if you will, through my inner monologue. I hope that you will find it a bit silly, yet informative for those who don't have ADHD and relatable for those who do. (Yes, it is lengthy, and I appreciate those who make it to the end!)

The saga begins...

***

After noticing I just cleaned for a half hour without losing focus...

Oh good, the fates have bestowed unto me a bout of productivity today!

I'll just play word games on my phone for a little bit as a treat after all that cleaning. It's 11:10 now, so I'll stop at 11:30.

Crap, it's 11:34. I missed it, so I'll have to wait until 12:00 to stop. (Arbitrary brain rules demand that I begin tasks on the hour or at :30 on the clock.)

Okay. 12:30. Getting up. Going downstairs.

I really need to post more on my LLC page. I started a post this morning about gender-affirming care, but didn't finish it, and now it's gone.

There must be somewhere on Facebook where drafts are stored. Not having much luck here.

I'll look it up on Google. Instructions say it's in the left panel toward the bottom. I don't see that, so maybe I need to be on my laptop to view it.

Since I'm going on my laptop, I can do other productive things I've been putting off. I need my to-do list though.

I'll go upstairs to find my stripey bag that has my notepad with the to-do list. Stripey bag is not up here.

Wait. What did I come up here for?

Oh! While I'm up here, I'll grab those stickers I found when I was cleaning. I've been meaning to put them on my computer forEVER! I need to find that stripey bag still. Back downstairs.

Found the stripey bag. Why didn't I look around down here first since I was already down here? Note pad is here. No pencil though. Hey! That's where my setting spray went!

If I look around the living room, I'll probably find a pencil somewhere. Usually on the floor, or buried in the couch.

I'll just clean up this clutter on the couch a little bit. Put my daughter's yarn away. Dang it! I didn't realize she had a work in progress attached to the skein, and I undid it a little bit. Maybe I can crochet it back to where it was.

Wait... I don't know how to crochet.

What's in this bag on the couch? Oh! It's the cool wooden plaque my daughter got me for my birthday! I totally forgot about it! My birthday was almost a month ago. I need to hang this up. First, I need to attach the hook with the tiny screw it came with.

I'll look in the spot downstairs where I keep the screwdrivers. Only flatheads. No criss-crossies. That won't work. Maybe that will work? No, that didn't work. Hey, that's where the hammer is!

Maybe the screwdriver is in that other place upstairs where I keep the screwdrivers. Why do I keep the screwdrivers in two different places? Nope, no screwdriver, but I found a steak knife in my room for some reason. Maybe that will work. No, that didn't work. Back downstairs. Wait. Grab the knife and those cups in your room and bring those downstairs.

Knife goes in the sink. So do the cups. Mission accomplished!

Wait. What was I doing?

Where's my snack? I had a snack. Where is it? Look around the living room. Nope. Look in the kitchen. Nope. Look by the place where you keep the pushpins. Maybe you brought it over there. Nope. Look in the living room? Found it! It was on the arm of the couch.

Wait. What was I doing?

What else can I use to screw this in? A pushpin? No, that didn't work. Dang, I dropped the screw. I can't find it. No time for pets right now, Moo. I'm very busy.

I'll get another screw from the drawer I keep the screws and nails in. Why don't I have these with the screwdrivers and other tools?

Okay, I found a screw. Maybe I can twist it with my hand. No, that didn't work. What if I use a pushpin to make a little hole first and then try to twist it in? I know where the pushpins are! No, that didn't work. Okay, I'll hammer the screw in. Hey, it worked! Now I can hang it. On a pushpin! I know where those are!

This plaque smells like wood. I love that smell. Like my sandalwood deodorant. Wait... Did I put deodorant on today? I think so. Maybe. Probably. Plaque is now hanging on the wall! Mission accomplished!

Wait. What was I doing?

Pencil! That's right. On the table? Nope, but my daughter's crochet hooks are on the floor. Those should go on the table. Oh, hey! Another sticker! I'll put this on my computer, too. It's a sticker of a cute little bookstore. I'll put it on the top left on the back of my computer. No, that's not a good placement. It's like it's in the sky. I'll put it on the bottom. Like it's on the ground. Where bookstores go.

Okay, pencil. Hey, there's another sticker! It's another book sticker though. Is it okay to have TWO book stickers on my computer? Is that pretentious? Yeah, it'll be fine. I just won't put them right next to each other. I'll put this one in the top left. Ha, I covered the Chromebook logo to where it looks like it just says "ebook." It'd be funny if I moved it just slightly so it says "book." Because it's a book sticker. Clever. I should angle it a little more though. This sticker is a circle, dummy. You can't angle a circle.

I'm way overdue for an eye exam.

Wait. What was I doing?

Hey! A pencil. On the floor!

Wait. Where's my snack? I just had it! I swear I ABSOLUTELY did NOT move it. It was on the arm of the chair. Where is it?! On the table? Nope. In the kitchen? Nope. Where I keep the pushpins? Nope. On the floor? Nope. Under the couch? Nope. Maybe it's in this pile of random stuff between the couch and the cat tree. It could have fallen off. I should clear this stuff up. Hey! A criss-crossie screwdriver! I'll put that in the place where I put the screwdrivers.

The cats have torn all of the scratchy rope off of the cat tree. Hey! I know where the pushpins are! I can pin it back on the wood. Nope. Rope is too thick.

Hey! I know where the hammer is! AND the nails!

10-15 minutes later... Okay, rope is hammered back onto the cat tree. Mission accomplished!

Wait. What was I doing?

Hey! There's my snack, over where I hung the plaque. Okay. NOW I'm ready to look at my to-do list and be productive on the computer!

Talking about neurodivergence and mental health are important. I should type this all up in Notes.

***

And it's now 2:30. Almost time to pick my daughter up for school. It took me over an HOUR to find my pencil and notepad. About 3 1/2 hours if you want to count from when I first decided to be productive at 11:10. So you see, I WAS productive, though I wasn't productive in the way that I MEANT to be.

If you don't have ADHD, you might be thinking, "But you didn't HAVE to do all those other things. It only took about 5 minutes to actually locate the notepad and the pencil. You CHOSE to do those other things." The thing with ADHD, though, is that these behaviors are IMPULSIVE and even COMPULSIVE. In fact, ADHD and OCD have very similar symptoms and sometimes occur comorbidly.

And one of the most frustrating things about ADHD is that I am fully aware of my behaviors at the time. I am able to identify that I'm exhibiting these behaviors. However, this isn't always (it is sometimes) enough to break me from the compulsion because all of these tasks feel like an URGENT NEED in the moment. My brain has heightened the importance of every task that crosses my mind, and they must happen RIGHT NOW! As I was tending to all of these other frivolous tasks, I was reminding myself consistently, "This isn't what you set out to do. You have actual important tasks to complete."

For goodness sake, I TEACH mindfulness strategies to others! Come on, Brian! (Note: Brian is what I call my brain when it's giving me extra trouble.)

Some people see ADHD as this cute, quirky thing. Some neurotypicals even use it as an adjective to describe when they have a forgetful or ditzy moment. "LOL. I'm so ADHD!"

However, ADHD is a CONDITION, with varying levels of severity. I take medication for ADHD, which does help, but it doesn't cure it. All of the above I just described is me on medication. It's even worse without it! ADHD can also impact memory. Notice how many times in my narrative, I had to ask myself, "Wait, what was I doing?"

ADHD can feel debilitating sometimes, and it can also come with feelings of disappointment and failure for not completing the tasks I set out to do. It can create a barrier to success. Imagine a person like me in school or at work. We're not lazy. We're not trying to get out of work. It's not that we don't care. In fact, I would venture to say that many of us care MORE than our neurotypical colleagues because we have to work so much harder just to manage our executive functioning. It is EXHAUSTING. We WANT to be successful. We WANT to thrive. We WANT to feel accomplished. And we CAN.

I don't mean for this all to be so negative. ADHD cannot be cured, but it CAN be overcome. I wish more people understood that it is a constant battle waging war inside my head. I have to actively fight against and challenge myself in order to accomplish tasks, no matter how simple they may be.

Thank you so much for reading, and now I leave you with this:

To those with ADHD who may be struggling similarly today, give yourself GRACE. You are NOT a failure. You just hit some snags.

To those who work with and teach folks with ADHD, give us grace, ESPECIALLY if you are a teacher. Yes, I know students with ADHD can exhibit behaviors that are frustrating and tiring. But please remember, these are BEHAVIORS. And ALL behavior is communication. These behaviors may communicate that the person is dysregulated and struggling. How can you help them in this moment? What strategies can you proactively teach them at a time that they're not dysregulated so they can employ them in the future?

And now for the shameless plug: As I mentioned, I do teach mindfulness strategies, as well as other social-emotional skills. I have taught these skills to students ranging from elementary to high school, as well as to educators to teach to their students. And teaching these skills has also helped ME immensely in using them myself.

If this sounds like something that may be helpful in your workplace, please consider:
--Giving me a call or sending a message, text, phone call, or email! (Contact info on main page.)
--Referring Hyperion Community, LLC to your leadership team!
--Commenting on this post with a business or organization you'd like me to reach out to!

Thank you! :)

-Simone Perry

I'm a bit (okay, A LOT) of a word nerd. I'm fascinated by the evolution and etymology of words, and the power words hold.

Lately, I've seen an influx of folks claiming that "cis" is a slur, so let's talk about Latin prefixes!

Cis: a Latin prefix meaning "on the same side of"

Example: "Cisatlantic" means on the same side of the Atlantic Ocean

Trans: a Latin prefix meaning "across, beyond, on the other side of"

Example: "Transatlantic" means on the other side of the Atlantic or crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

Though there are fewer words with the "cis" prefix in English, there are MANY words with the "trans" prefix, such as transportation, translation, transform, transaction, and transition.

These prefixes have been around in the scientific and medical fields for a while. "Cisgender" and "transgender" are adjectives. They are merely descriptors with completely neutral connotations. It's like calling something that's red, red. You call it red because it's... well, red. This is not an insult (or a slur) toward the red object. Of course, you can get more technical with the many shades that fall under the red umbrella (maroon, burgundy, scarlet, etc), in much the same way that there are micro labels under the trans umbrella (genderq***r, agender, etc).

Adjectives CAN have a positive or negative connotation, though not all do. For example, if I say "wet," that word has a neutral connotation. Whereas "sopping" or "drenched" have a more negative connotation, and "dewy" and "sprinkling" have a more positive connotation. However, with "cis" and "trans," this is not the case.

If someone associates "cis" with a negative connotation, it could be because they view "trans" as such. Or it could be because they view their gender as "normal," as "the default setting," thus not needing an additional qualifier.

Picture this:
You're trying to point someone out in a crowd to your friend. In this hypothetical, the majority of the people are wearing a blue shirt, so it may not be particularly helpful to say "the person with the blue shirt." You might describe the person using other adjectives and characteristics, like "the tall person with the glasses and baseball hat." Now let's say that the person you want to point out is one of the few NOT wearing a blue shirt, so you might include "the person wearing the purple shirt" in your description.

Notice that these descriptors all have a neutral connotation, and they offer no insight into the speaker's or listener's opinion of them. It's not necessary to describe one's gender identity as "trans" or "cis" all the time; however, when there's discourse on trans-specific issues, it is an important and informative qualifier.

While we're on the subject, there is no need to add the suffix "ed" to cisgender or transgender because they are adjectives. "Ed" is a suffix that's typically added to a verb to make it past tense. My cats are cute and cuddly, not cuted and cuddlied.

Note: I am not the monolith or chosen representative for the q***r and trans community. Others may have different perspectives, especially when it comes to understanding the intricacies and nuances of language. I welcome discourse and questions in the comments! If you are cisgender, please be mindful that you are not speaking over trans/nonbinary voices. :)

If you've ever worked in education, mental health, case management, or a similar field, you probably know about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. It was THE thing to know when I went to college for teaching. However, did you know that Abraham Maslow's pyramid is actually a whitewashed pedagogy he appropriated from the Siksika (Blackfoot) Nation without crediting them at all? Surprise!

The original visual representation was a tipi, NOT a pyramid, with Community Actualization closer to the sky than Self-Actualization! Unlike the pyramid, the tipi is not a hierarchy. Rather, it recognizes that self-actualization is the FOUNDATION of community actualization. Why does this matter? As humans, we cannot function without a sense of community-- without safety and connection and care. In order for our individual basic needs to be met, we need the love and support of our community. In order for our community to thrive, we need to have our individual basic needs met. Both are crucial and one impacts the other.

Now this is NOT to say that if you adhere to Maslow's Hierarchy, you're wrong or a bad person! I still find some value in his theory. However, in creating affirming, equitable environments, it's crucial that we question and challenge what we've been taught, especially when the teachings and accomplishments of marginalized communities have been erased from our history.

This is one of many topics that I expand on in my professional developments on privilege/oppression dynamics, creating an equitable environment, and trauma-informed practices.

Want to know more? Please contact me regarding the work that I do, and check out the comments for links to further reading!

-Simone Perry
they/them

Have you ever been to a training where you felt like you were just being talked AT the entire time?

Where you thought the presenter just wanted to hear themselves talk?

Felt like your time was wasted because you weren't actually given any concrete STRATEGIES to implement into your work?

Slid a note across the table to your coworker saying, "This could've been an email"?

SAME!

And my goal is to provide something new and refreshing in the professional development world!

First and foremost, I am a storyteller, an educator, and fellow human.

In community-serving fields (educators, medical providers, librarians, case managers, to name a few), we can sometimes get so bogged down with ever-growing workloads, bureaucracy, compassion fatigue, and burnout (and unnecessary meetings!), that we may sometimes forget the HUMANITY of the HUMANS we serve, and that is where the purpose of Hyperion Community, LLC lies.

My experiences are uniquely my own and I am not the monolith of my identities, but I openly share what it's like for ME to live as a q***r, nonbinary educator living in a conservative region. I share the cultural and societal impact of the cycle of poverty and childhood trauma, while also telling the story of how being a child experiencing homelessness impacted me and still impacts me today. I share specific examples of how my own interactions with medical and mental health providers have helped and hindered me, what worked and what could have been done differently in the name of compassion and inclusivity. I do this while embracing challenging, difficult questions. This helps others in building empathy, which is crucial in these fields of work.

I share stories and ideas, things that I would like professionals to consider and then form their own opinion on how it relates to the work they do. This is why I not only share my own knowledge and experience, but also dedicate time and space for discourse, brainstorming, questioning, and developing an action plan.

If this sounds like the kind of professional development your workplace needs, let's set up a free consultation!

-Simone Perry
They/them
(970)614-5068 (call or text)
[email protected]

Hey, y'all! It would mean THE WORLD to me if you could like/follow/share my page, Hyperion Community, LLC ! I founded it about two years ago but haven't really promoted it. This has been a long-time dream of mine. I design and facilitate professional development for organizations on topics like inclusive language, EDI, and meeting the needs of the q***r and trans community. I also do one-on-one consultations for folks who are looking to be stronger allies to the q***r and trans community.

If you know of an organization that could benefit from becoming more affirming and inclusive, please send them my way! (Or I can reach out to them!)

I've been doing this for a few years now by word of mouth referrals, and I would truly love to see this become a full-time gig for me!