Everyone has a story. I heard someone say that "what we go through" should not define us." Honestly, what we go through are the making of the foundation of who we are. I take it as a privilege to be able to channel energies to paint pictures with written words to share noteworthy stories that I feel will better the next man or woman who may be experiencing similar circumstances. I can't imagine being a foster child or being deemed a ward of the state at the tender age of 5. I can't imagine the courage it takes to share a story that leaves trails of tears on anyone who has half a heart. Courage is the ability to move on despite despair. Through telling the Eerie Canal story, I will dive into "the art living pass yesterday to move on to uplift tomorrow."
Hello Faithful Reader,
I hope I have found you well. I am just now getting to a point where I feel I can give Eerie Canal his Proper. I conducted an interview with Eerie on January 21, 2018, at 3 PM. I knew going into the interview that it would be memorable. I had briefly met Eerie years prior. He turned up at a BTT event and performed. What stood out to me about Eerie Canal was the fact that he clearly knew no one in the room and was clearly completely at ease. His performance was flawless, and it certainly didn’t hurt that he beat his chest to the time of the music and the cadence in his verse the entire time. That is what I remembered about Eerie Canal.
Years passed and here we are today in July writing my “January Muse.” Why? Well, come to find out……I was never pleased with my work because I felt it had holes and gaps that I needed to tie to connect “my
Dear Reader” to a soul who holds a masterful story to tell. So, I waited. Today I feel more enlightened and will take another try at it.
So, hold on. I will have to weave this one for you. Most likely it will be written in at least two parts to make sure no components muddy the otherwise clear way to this “Pure Flow” wonder I’m about to hip you to. You can thank me Later.
"Complicated is not a word I prefer to use when describing an individual. There is a distinct difference between being complicated and being primal. “Complicated” means to consist of many interconnecting parts or elements and is normally quite intricate. Whereas, “Primal” relates to an early stage in evolutionary development. When I think about primal I see it as a sturdy thing...the thing that other things are built upon. In my mind, primal is generally a basic template of what a thing is. “Complicated,” on the other hand, consists of different types of components needed to make a thing. The problem with “Complicated” is that all it takes is for one of the components to be flawed to potentially cripple an otherwise healthy thing.”
I found Eerie’s nature to be primal, in that his thought process stems from a place not based in this day and time, and intricate because he a host of information and thought processes that the bulk of the masses shy away from because it is often easier and more comfortable to just go with the flow. It takes a certain kind of strength and courage to buck back at a system we are trained not to see….and mean it.
Eerie Canal was a foster child. That is one of the first things he told me. He painted a verbal picture when he said that,
“Childhood trauma is synonymous with the “Foster Care” experience. No matter how many times a foster child is told they are safe to be themselves, they don’t believe it because being “themselves” wasn’t enough to keep the “Foster Care System” at bay, creating a hard pill to swallow and a wound that never quite heals.” He went on to say, “Fear and manipulation innate in many foster children cause them to be method actors in their day to day lives, taking on characters they believe are best for the given situation.”
A product of the system and deemed a ward of the state at the age of 5, Brandon Correa knows the story of “the Foster Child” all too well. His picture paints as a little boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders in desperate need of the strength he draws from his “Eerie Canal” within
“At some point, you get tired of moving around….so you train yourself to act the way people need you to act to fit into their household. It becomes necessary if you plan on having your new family allow you to stay. The problem is you can never stop being who you are and at some point, your natural nature resurfaces. Being a foster child makes a can make a child manipulative because the underlying fear is that if the new family sees who you are from the beginning, they will not “buy” you.”
Brandon was a small child when his alter “Eerie” presented himself. It was decided on a subconscious level that for Brandon to be safe and powerful, Eerie had to take control. Eerie was the strong one protecting Brandon and soothing him from the trauma of his beginnings.
His Mother was 16 and on drugs. His Father was 18 going on 19. Because of drug addiction and gang-related activities, the Child Protective Service took Brandon away from his mother at the age of 4. He spent years bouncing back and forth between his Grandmother and God Mother. At the age of 6, his Grandmother was deemed unfit to care for him so Eerie was placed in Foster care. At the age of 7 Eerie was diagnosed with ADHD.
Years passed. Soon it seemed that Eerie was too old to be adopted. He was placed in residential programs, living with young children who were court ordered to be there. Eerie was there because there was nowhere else for him to go.
“I didn’t meet my father until I was 14 or 15. I went on a visit with the last foster family who sent me back. The same foster family who adopted my sister and brother. Turns out, that foster family found my Father and took me to meet him. It was then that I found out that the reason why he was not in my life was that my Mother hid me from him because he had threatened to take me away. My Father said he never knew where to find me. Our relationship is cool. I am not close to anyone.”
Between the ages of 15-19 Eerie was placed in group and residential homes. During this period, he dropped out of high school and went to Job Corp and received his GED. He almost decided to join the Navy but opted against it because “they went to war on my birthday.” Eerie ultimately enrolled in community college. It was during this stage in his life that his daughter was born.
“I remember being in at the hospital when my Daughter was born. I remember feeling as if there was a cloud or fog coming from my child. I remember feeling utterly hopeless. It felt as though everything was moving in slow motion. I suddenly had the realization that another person in the world would depend on me. I felt powerless. The thickness in the room forced me to leave. I left the hospital and committed a robbery that night. It was odd to me that as hopeless as I felt, committing the robbery made me feel powerful.
I was 19 and enrolled in college studying graphic design because visual art is my first passion…. the police pulled me out of the class and arrested me for the robbery I committed. I was sentenced to 3 years and ultimately caught another charge for having a weapon and gang activity. An additional 3 years was added to the initial sentence. I was the property of the sate…. they owned me. I ended up serving 6 years in prison.”
And so, the story continues to unfold."
I will revisit this story and share the rest at a later date.
Always, Robin
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