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Atta Zahedi

@thecountoforange

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🇮🇷 🍉
just being happy being me
Writer
Staff editor for @cripple.media
Activist for the disabled
they/them and 34

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Getting up on DuSable Lake Shore Drive yesterday was incredibly thrilling and a massive connecting experience with the city, the people, and the nature surrounding it. Throughout Chicago, I'm always questioning if where I am headed will be accessible, what trouble I'll have getting there, and how I'll be viewed for just wanting to engage with my local communities.

Yesterday, I confronted those anxieties because the city and it's people agreed to close down the drive. I have a big thank you to @activetransportationalliance for organizing the event. For one of the rarest moments, my nervous system eased because I didn't have to worry about a car coming my way, a driver not seeing me and hitting me, or having to establish that I have the right of way. Plus, the highway is better taken care of than most sidewalks! I didn't have to worry about getting over large cracks and broken tactile domes and curbs because the US prioritizes car infrastructure over the people using it.

Every day we should be able to use our outdoor and social spaces freely and easily. A truly accessible lake shore means I don't have to overthink how I get there, how I interact with it, how I worry about getting there safely by avoiding vehicles, and how I enjoy it. I was the only person in a wheelchair that I saw on DSLD but that accentuates my belief that accessibility helps all, because everyone biking the drive was enjoying themselves! There were so many people cheering each other on and that's a sign of a healthy and well taken-care of community. One that enjoys their nature and takes care of it and encourages all to enjoy it as well.

I'll be joining @bscactionfund this Wednesday at 9:30AM to tell CMAP to pump the brakes on turning DLSD into an expressway. We instead should be asking ourselves how can we make a more accessible, safe, and easy to navigate transit infrastructure that centers people, not cars. The link to sign up is in my bio and I'm excited to team up with people who want to create a more accessible city for all! by @thecountoforange

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a month ago

Had the best time at the Disability Pride Parade with friends! Thank you for the joy, support, and camaraderie friends! I love you all so much and it meant the most to celebrate a special day all together. I'm forever proud to be disabled 🧡 by @thecountoforange

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3 months ago

I'm coming for you summer. 🌞
Image Description: Atta wearing a black top with gold accessory and flexing in front of a balcony. taken in Chicago, Illinois by @thecountoforange

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5 months ago

February 17th was my two year anniversary with the enigmatic witch @cailleach.of.the.abyss. Two years ago we decided to meet each other on a freezing day, surrounded by water, land, and wild animals in a cemetery. Every day since has been filled with magic, appreciation for the wild and each other, enthusiasm for each other to be our most true selves, and more.

When I came back from our first date, I had to tell everyone that I met someone who made the world seem so bright with her smile, laugh, constant excitement to learn, and the gentle fierceness with which she holds her love for the universe. I knew from that day her roots are as ancient as any redwood tree, her beauty as brightly iridescent as a hummingbird, and her appreciation of the dark as full as the moon.

We, very early, started sharing poetry with one another. Our love for words built a soft and caring home for us to learn more about one another and I want to share that with anyone who will listen. I have never celebrated a 2 year anniversary before and I think one major factor of that is that I never felt as truly comfortable to have my full disabled self seen so matter of factly until Tiffany wanted to know me more intimately as she has. From the way she loves the way I beam at the ones I love, to the way I push towards joy, to the way I try to accept my moments of despair as lessons, her wisdom, grace, and soothing embrace of me has only bolstered me and increased my love for myself as well. She is a boon, a gift, a beautiful haunting lesson to everyone she orbits because she knows what it truly means to live, as wild as one can be. And I will always love this about her.

Hamsafar, azizam, the moon to my sun, I am so excited for every day I spend with you. Thank you for choosing me, it is a privilege I am grateful for every day and I will always love everything you have been, are, and will be. You are a blessing and I love the heights and depths we explore together. Happy anniversary, I am always yours. by @thecountoforange

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8 months ago

Forever appreciative of how beautiful and full and truthful my life feels now. Thank you so much for all the intention you bring into building a life @cailleach.of.the.abyss

I love you deeply and intensely and I love how you haunt the depths of my heart like an ancient leviathan. taken in Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary by @thecountoforange

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a year ago

It's been a really hard and rough and demanding and overwhelming summer but am happy with how I've dealt with it all and for the people who enjoy and work through life together with me. I wouldn't have it any other way. less by @thecountoforange

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a year ago

I knew that when I came to Chicago that I came here for a better life but I could never have known how beautiful, peaceful, and all-encompassing the joy and ease I found would be until it happened. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the magic that you infuse in my every second azizam, with you in my heart and head I feel deeply connected to the universe and I know I'm home no matter where I am. The world is a better place because you are a glorious conduit for the love that flows through it. I will love you forever @cailleach.of.the.abyss 💕 that smile and cackle of yours embues so much life into everything around you. taken in Rose Hill Cemetery by @thecountoforange

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2 years ago

When I first went to @sio.bast's Cathedral event at Epiphany Arts I immediately felt ecstatically overjoyed at all the opportunities to enjoy unique performances, a wonderfully curated space, and to meet wonderful people who care deeply about their community. I felt more and more comfortable throughout the whole night as @marlawyrd and I got to dress up as out authentic selves and party with friends until all the monsters had to go back to their lairs.

It was truly a delight how accessible and inclusive the space was. With multiple seating arrangements, step-free access, wide walkways, and lots of good views of the stage, along with performers that engaged the crowd, everything was a perfect blend of dark vibrant delights! I highly recommend people to go to Sio's events, she knows how to make everyone feel welcome and always picks a stellar cast. I cant wait to see the energy Connor Konz brings as a host!

“✨🦇 Step into a delightfully indulgent lair with 𝓒𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓭𝓻𝓪𝓵 𝓘𝓥: Creatures of the Dark at @epiphanyarts201, Chicago! 🦇✨

Join @bast_entertainment and @kombichicago
on 3/29 for an unforgettable night of immersive Gothic Burlesque, art exhibits, and dancing to pulsating DJ beats in this historical venue. 🎶

Explore captivating nation wide performances, daring experiences with our Kink booth, and a world where creativity knows no bounds. Don't miss this nocturnal adventure! 😈

Hosted by Connor Konz

Main Stage: Twirlisha, Renee Ryder, Morteisha Addams & SioBast, Sindy Vicious, and Miss Ammunition.

Pole by: Dalton Rhodes, Chase, Lavender Vyxn, Caity, Ruby, and Sugarcane Jane.

Ambient by: Vivi Valens, Rosemary Maybe, & Perkulator.

DJ's: Scary Lady Sarah & Mr Bobby!

#CathedralAfterDark #ChicagoEvents #ArtisticWonder" taken in Epiphany Center for the Arts by @thecountoforange

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2 years ago

A few days ago I got to experience the celestial event that is @cailleach.of.the.abyss birthday 🎂✨ the world is a more magical, radiant, and divine place wherever her dark luminescence graces. She is the star that lights up every room and the earth that continuously embraces all with the solemnity and tenderness of a welcoming grave. Thank you for existing my love 🧡 every day is better than the last because of you. May this year only help you grow in power, comfort, and joy. You deserve the worship and love that one can offer 🤟🏽 by @thecountoforange

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2 years ago

So happy to celebrate my 33rd birthday with all of these amazing friends and my hauntingly lovely and marvelous partner, @cailleach.of.the.abyss. I adore you all so much and thank you for helping me feel the most me I've ever been. The first birthday I ever had in the US was in the hospital and even though I don't remember it, I've been thankful that ever since I got to bounce with joy with all my friends in the comfort and warmth of our homes and love one another with no obstacles.

As for @cailleach.of.the.abyss, an everlasting gratitude for how you have helped me grow in this age and into the next and know that I'll always want to be by your side, supporting and loving you as you have and continue to support and love me. taken in Chicago, Illinois by @thecountoforange

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2 years ago

Happy Birthday to one of the kindest, strongest, brilliant, most beautiful and loving people I know, my enduringly stoic yet gentle Mom who has been with me through everything. She's born on Shabe Yalda, the longest night of the year, and that has been so emblematic of who she is. The eternal flame that guides everyone through the darkest of times, the comfort of community and celebration while acknowledging the dark reality of the world and its seasons.

Even after escaping a war, an abusive marriage, and my accident she has consistently shown me how to enjoy life and to appreciate the diversity and opportunities that the universe offers. How to be a good host, a good human, and a good force in the world while preserving our self image and control. I'm always thankful for you jigari, you helped make me who I am and I wish you so many more decades of prosperity!! by @thecountoforange

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2 years ago

I had such an absolutely lovely time driving to Pelee National Park, the southernmost part of contiguous Canada to view the solar eclipse with @tigertheclock and Ford. It was an stunningly gorgeous and lively park, with constant unique bird calls incessantly cascading, and viewing the eclipse on the beach and experiencing the magic of the universe aligning its minute parts is a memory I'll cherish for my life. taken in Pelee National Park by @thecountoforange

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3 years ago