I debuted this column last month, and this month I wanted to get into where this column has gotten its inspiration from by answering the question: “Why be a disruptor?!” I have been a truth seeker and a healer my whole life. I grew up in a huge family where, on the best of days, the chaos that surrounded me felt like being one of the lost boys in Neverland. I had a jungle of children around me, as I grew up in a household of 8-12 people. It was loud and chaotic and in my small community, alcoholism and abuse was rampant. Not that any of us talked about it a lot. We all just lived and played. My dad himself was an “eff the man” kind of person. He has suffered from addiction my whole life and is now a man who is homeless. I watched, throughout my life, as this beautiful human being became a shell of himself, agitated and depressed. I also grew up in a very multicultural family. I myself have Japanese, Russian, and English. My father is half Japanese, half Russian and various other pieces of European descent. My mum is English. One of my brothers is half native, I have a sister who is adopted from Guatemala and one of my non-blood brothers is half black. We are very multicultural. I grew up having siblings, in our care, that have autism, mental disability, and cerebral palsy. All this has led me to have an incredibly interesting perspective on the world. As I have no indication in my personal looks that I am Japanese, I do have this perspective in my family. It breaks my heart to hear when someone asks one of my cousins where he is from,...... Read more on Full Issue!