Why SuperPapa?

A couple of months late, but here I am, creating the first blog post of my Ph.D. journey!

So why, SuperPapa? It was January 16th, 2014. I was with my dear sister, who suggested I needed to blog about my life. I laughed and said, what would I blog about, and what would I call the blog? She simply replied, "SuperPapa," as she suggested the name, I decided to look up the website. To my amusement was the image of a man lying on a construction site, titled above him it said, "Feliz Cumpleaños!". My birthday was the day before! I chuckled and let it be.

As a graduate student of Transpersonal Ecopsychology, I had gained a robust understanding of material culture related to transpersonal psychology. This included studying the relationships with the more than human world, nonduality, and how a contemplative approach impacts learning as a whole. This thought is precisely why I applied to the Ph.D. program in Transformative Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). When I first started to study Transpersonal Ecopsychology at Naropa University, I was part of a small cohort of students, thirteen in total. Being in such a small cohort, we became extremely close, sometimes giving one another nicknames. Once again, the name PapaBear and SuperPapa came into my mind, and I was reminded of the years prior. I remembered my sister suggesting I start a blog; once again, I let it be.

Fast forward to 2020, and I prepared for my virtual graduation from the program. There on the screen, my entire cohort, including my sister. As the ceremony concluded and space was opened up for family and friends to comment. My sister decided to say a few words, which made me tear up. Still, she insisted on calling me SuperPapa throughout her remarks, and I was reminded of the domain. In the next few days, I started thinking about a blog and looking and feeling. I decided to take another look at the domain, and to great astonishment, I saw it was for sale! It took me another day or so before I could draft an email to the owner. I explained the nickname and explained the reasons I wanted it. Just a few minutes after hitting send, I heard back from the owner! They were gracious enough to share the story behind the photo; it was of their father, who was a construction worker. Unique and made the domain even more special because my father is also in construction. They offered to sell the domain to me, and I felt like a kid at Christmas!

So here I am, SuperPapa, creating this blog to document this journey! I hope to share art, creative inquiry, best practices, self-care tips, research, and the Ph.D. pathway!

Thank you again, Mag!