Caring is Intelligence.

Caring is Intelligence

Welcome to my Blog!

I’m Raquel, your new favorite colorful, funky, cool and curious, fashionista, artist, environmentalist, and California native. I wanted to start off this new era of Raquel by explaining the intention behind, “Caring is Intelligence”. 

Looking at it from an outsider's point of view, I have two lives. Life one — my life as an artist. Life two — my life as an environmentalist. There is no linear path connecting my major in Environmental Systems and Policy, my year abroad in Italy studying art, my passion for fashion, my interest in public education, and finally, my desire to create. But to me, they have always felt similar, passions stemming from the same internal place within my curious mind. 

And here lies the meaning behind this carefully curated blog title. I see a strong parallel between artistic inspiration and environmental and social hope — two separate industries that hold the same battle: 

Whether you work in the arts or the environment, some part of your job will always be convincing people to care.

In our wonderfully extractive, capitalistic economy, caring isn’t sexy. Caring isn’t cool. Caring isn’t easy. In fact, caring has become chronically devalued. A shocking realization, given how reliant our society is on the exploitation of the people who are pulling the heavy loads, the ones who are actively caring. 

The goal of this blog is to draw attention to this paradox, and remind ourselves that the opposite is true. Caring is cool and sexy. And you do not have to do it alone. 

But it goes a step deeper, in a world where caring is overwhelmingly underestimated, I believe that caring is not just cool and sexy, but a form of intelligence, strategy, and empathy. 

We are currently facing some of the heaviest and most complex obstacles our world has ever seen. We endlessly scroll, searching for a quick relief from the current headlines. Laying in bed, a growing list of systemic issues keeps me awake: global warming, climate extremes, ocean acidification, environmental racism, food insecurity, greenwashing, wage gaps, inflation, political division, and cuts in funding to the arts and education. 

If I tell one more person that I studied environmental systems and they respond with, “good luck, we really screwed things up for you,” I might explode.

Because it’s true, caring is exhausting. And you can try to tune it out, you can try not to care. But if you were indifferent, you wouldn’t be here. You care. You give a damn. And most importantly, you’re not alone. 

Here, we will discuss complex topics in a simplified manner through a lens of hope and inspiration. No matter your background and experience in sustainability and the arts, Caring Is Intelligence is a space for those who care. 

If you choose to stick around, and I hope you will, I hope we can use this space to share that heavy load, and learn from each other.

Because that, my lovely friends, is the second connection between these seemingly diverse industries — art and environmental conservation cannot survive without community. 

Caring creates community. Community is a solution to isolation, division, and exploitation. 

And therefore — Caring is intelligence.

Caring is Intelligence is your space, just as much as it is mine. Always authentic, with a little sass, and a little bit of funk. 

Thank you for being here. 

Thank you for joining our lovely, passionate, whimsical, artistic community of environmentalists.

And finally, thanks for giving a damn. Let’s get into it.