Positionality Statement

My name is Andrew Viñales. I am a Queer Black Puerto Rican and Dominican Bronxite. I am writing this as I sit on territoty that has been taken from indigenous groups in violent ways.This blog is mainly for me to make sense of my ADHD. I am learning that everyone’s journey is different. I realized that I was looking for someone with my specific experience but I couldn’t find it out there. We typically hear about ADHD through the lens of the stereotypes of White Boys acting out. While many can relate to the Hyperactive type of ADHD, I and many others cannot. Instead I am learning that I exhibit more Inattentive Type symptoms. People with Inattentive type often stay undiagnosed or are diagnosed later in life for various reasons, including gender discrimination, racism, and ablism. I hope my story can be helpful for others. But this blog is mainly for me to process.

When I am not writing about my ADHD experience, I am probably figuring out ways to change the world. I am a newly initiated priest in the Afro/Cuban Orisha tradition known as Lukumí or Santeria, my current title is Iyawo. I am a PhD student learning extensively through the Black Feminist tradition. I am a working Oral Historian, and cultural worker. ADHD is not my only story but it effects every aspect of my life. It makes me a better spiritualist. It makes being a PhD student very difficult. But it makes me passionate about the work I love.

I get time blind. A lot. Sometimes this looks like me getting stuck in the bathtub longer than expected. Sometimes this looks like me hyperfocusing on a new skill or project, and before I know it hours have passed and somehow I’ve created a new blog.

Image description: This photo shows Andrew smiling while holding his hands against a blurred out Gazebo. Andrew is wearing a Blue Blazer over an orange and Blue printed button-up shirt. He is wearing glasses andpeaking from his shirt are colorful beaded necklaces. In frame is his right shoulder up to his head with treens and greenery in the background. His hair is tied back but you can see his locs twisted on his head.

ADHD is a disability. Some people are resistant to the idea that ADHD can be a gift. I happen to believe that there are things about my ADHD that I couldn’t imagine living without. It is also true that I experience emotional disregulation, and I can get really sad, very easily for reasons that don’t always make sense. Sometimes I get stuck. There are things that I know I must do to be a good partner, a good son, a good person, but I have trouble getting started or moving. I’m finding ways to work through that.

I be buggin out sometimes (Don’t come for me!) This feels like I am not fully present in my body. It looks like me walking around aimlessly in my apartment not knowing what to do. It sounds like me stuttering and struggling to get words out. Sometimes this makes me panic. Other times it makes me love myself even more.