About

/ To ask and be asked /

My Beautiful Alien is a space to explore a new conversation around truth, growth and possibility. This space is one for us all to show up to examine the previously unstated and unimagined together. There is an emphasis on together. My Beautiful Alien is a reciprocal conversation. You ask me the questions. I will share my answers. We started with the first 99 questions and will continue from there. I know that my answers will generate more questions for you, and so we will continue our chat in this space.

Let’s go further with our personal and interpersonal inquiry than we have previously allowed ourselves. Let's talk about the things that we have been told to shy away from or hide. Let's talk about the parts of ourselves that we love, see and honor for the ways they are unique, or perhaps even “alien” to the cultural norms and standards. Ask me anything. Anything. I will answer with full transparency and openness as I always do. I invite you to do the same.

I could say that My Beautiful Alien is about embracing the truest version of ourselves, and it is. However, more than anything else, My Beautiful Alien is an opening of ourselves to the opportunity of who we can be when we step into the untapped beauty of who we are beyond the known. We are products of our environments, our families and our beliefs, and we are also the emanation of something far greater. When we hold onto a false perception of control or particular definitions of self, we block our access to our own possibility as beings and communities. This community welcomes the unknown as possibility and asks us to trust in the beauty of asking and being asked. It’s one of humility, openness and exploration. It is one of newness and growth. Through My Beautiful Alien, I call you into this realm of unknown and exploration. Let's work together to imagine and create new spaces that allow us to fully be ourselves.

What do you want to talk about that you have yet to consider or ask? What do you know to be true that you have yet explored? What would the conversation look like if we opened to the possibilities outside of our own judgment and/or society’s?

Don’t look away. Ask me anything. Let’s go there.

Welcome to the [future] conversation. Our truthfulness will create the world we wish to inhabit.

x

Sam
(they/she)

BIO

I am an artist, writer, teacher, parent and so many more nouns and verbs. At my core, I have always been one who questions. I have not always known the right questions to ask, or where to look for the fitting answers. Like everyone else, I have gotten lost along the way. I still do at times, and those moments are usually the ones that lead to beautiful growth and deeper embodiment of self. When my connection to my inner truth has felt disconnected, I have turned to inner inquiry. Over time, I have learned that the questions that resonate most are often the ones that ring an inner bell—a knowing, or remembering. I love the process of asking and being asked.

My latest growth edge has invited me to engage in active dialogue with self, family, lover, friend, child, co-parent, work and world. I am learning to create trust and deeper presence while also pursuing new ways of being and doing. I am discovering how to approach everything as observer, questioner and collaborator. I am humbly asking and being asked to grow through the change within and around me. The grounding force through it all has been raw, honest conversation that allows for openness to possibility and newness while also firmly honoring the knowing inside of me that I call “My Beautiful Alien.” My Beautiful Alien is the ever present tie to the part of myself who has been there from the beginning—the part of self who has been waiting to be rediscovered and honored all along the way. Join me in discovering your beautiful alien, as I awaken mine. Let’s remember together.

I live on stolen land originally and still inhabited and cared for by the Chumash, Tongva (Gabrieleno) and Fernandeño Tataviam peoples in Los Angeles, California. I honor and pay respect to their elders and descendants ─ past, present, and emerging ─ as they continue their stewardship of these lands and waters. I commit to decolonizing myself and my work with ongoing dedication.

You can read more about my personal story and my previous work.

x

Sam
(they/them)

mission

My Beautiful Alien is committed to working towards a world in which all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, ability, sexuality, age, or geography, have access to environments—personal, professional and creative—that support full self-expression and in which all people have equitable protection and freedoms in all realms of life.

We believe by engaging in raw, honest dialogue, we can advance the revolution we wish to see within ourselves and in the world.

Values

Individuality
By encouraging ourselves and each other to radically and authentically own, embrace and share our uniqueness, in concept and practice, we can cultivate deeper acceptance and freedom within and around us. We reject the oppressive and damaging notions of homogenous beauty, success and worth, as prescribed by society, and celebrate the many identities, skin tones, shapes, backgrounds, beliefs and goals that make each of us who we are.

Growth
We started this project and remain engaged with it through our vision that growth unfolds when we hold ourselves accountable to honest personal and collective introspection and dialogue. Growth is vulnerable and edgy, but is the place where profound beauty blossoms and impactful change emerges. We support others, especially underrepresented voices and communities, in their expression and efforts towards individual and community transformation.

Truth
We uphold the infinite truth that lives within us all. By constantly asking ourselves and each other pointed questions and engaging deeply with the answers, we are better equipped to traverse this wild thing called life. We acknowledge and respect the universal connection to truth for all people of all experiences, identities, and backgrounds.

Creativity
Art is good medicine. We all have different ways of transforming our internal landscape into a tangible expression of a lived experience. Creativity offers an outlet, a means to connect and collaborate, a beauty that is welcomed and a language for conversations that can often be challenging to begin.

Vulnerability
As humans, we are full spectrum beings. When we are transparent about our real experiences, we are able to be more present with ourselves and others. We heal and connect in the raw space. We do not subscribe to a hierarchy of emotions, but believe in the reality of a layered human existence. We recognize that honest sharing requires a tremendous and varied amount of risk and bravery, depending on a person’s identity and location, and work to offer a brave space for raw, vulnerable exchange for all.