Hey y’all, it’s ya girl! I’m Vilissa Thompson, a woman who wears many hats & goes by many titles. If you’re new here, I’m a: macro social worker, writer, speaker, consultant, and Founder of Ramp Your Voice! I’m also a visionary, creative, and currently establishing the second act of my career with new and exciting projects.
Thank you for reading and subscribing! This newsletter is for YOU - those who may be new to me and those who are “long time listener, first time reader. This newsletter gives you a bird’s eye view of who I am, what I’m getting into, and what I’m working on.
Photo of a Black woman with her hair parted and hanging down straight. She is smiling and facing the camera sideways in her wheelchair. She is outside under the tree branches while wearing a white and black dress.
Patron Saint of Boundaries
Reclaiming Holiday Joy While Balancing Grief
Content note: mention of passings and grief. Read with care.
The Holiday season is in full swing in my neck of the woods. I got my decorations up, mapping out when I’ll give gifts, and getting gifts for myself for surviving the weirdness of 2025.
I love this time of year, and that has grown as I’ve gotten older. However, this time of year is also bittersweet - this coming Christmas Eve marks the 10th anniversary passing of my beloved Grandmother.
I’ve been reminiscing about the 30 Christmases I had with her, and how she did everything to share her joy of this time of year with me. It took a few years for me to regain my Holiday spirit after her death, but what pushed me to reclaim joy - she’d want me to be happy during her favorite time of year. And with that realization, I took small steps to get to where I am today - buy festive clothes, find my own decorations for the house, and listen to an abundance of Christmas music for the month of December.
Reclaiming Holiday joy is important to me because it allows me to hold two important realities at once - what this season means to me and embracing the sadness of not having the people I love with me. Though they’re no longer here in the physical, I do my rituals of remembering them and honoring what they mean to me. This year, I’m holding space for the recent passing of a disabled activist friend and comrade, Alice Wong. I miss my friend dearly, and will add her to my Holiday ritual remembrance as I take time to reflect on those that I wish were still here.
The Holiday season can be a mixed bag of emotions, but we have the ability to redefine this time of year on our terms, and in our personal capacities. That’s what I urge each of you to do if there are people you’re missing this Season.
Unapologetically HER:
Harlem Globetrotters is 100 years old!
The final event outing of 2025 took place at the beginning of the month as I went to the Harlem Globetrotters event in Columbia. The Harlem Globetrotters is celebrating 100 years, and I wanted to be a part of the action! It was a very cool event - I loved the way they engaged the kids for the various segments of the show, and the kids were very funny!
I would definitely go again if they come back this way. This event was a nice bookend to my outing adventures for 2025.
With going to 10 events this year, including my birthday trip to Atlanta, ya girl was truly outside doing all of the fun things. What’s ahead of 2026? Hopefully more concerts, unique events, and sharing space with beloved friends.
Vilissa is wearing a black head wrap and mask, with a brown sweatshirt that says “Queen” with a Black Woman with Bantu knots on it. She is at a Basketball arena with the court behind her.
My Faves!!
These are a few of my favorite things…
One thing I love to do - journaling. It is one of the reasons I love notebooks so much. Whether I’m daydreaming about the future, writing my thoughts on a problem, or just wanting to capture a memory, journaling has always been my safe space to share my true thoughts on whatever that’s happening in my life without fear.
Being this age, I want to be more intentional about what I’m journaling, particularly on capturing memories of the past and present, as well as have guided prompts to engaged with that’ll expand what I share in my journals.
I found Palette Planner Co on Etsy this Fall and they offer a wide range of journaling prompt bundles for so many occasions. I snatched up the bundles that pertained to the Fall and Holiday seasons, and I wasn’t disappointed.
If journaling more is a goal for you in 2026, this is one resource to consider for prompt ideas to add a bit of razzle dazzle to your writing!
Take Action
As I recap 2025 and look forward to 2026, I want to take a moment to celebrate - ME.
This year was the most creative year yet, with the development of two new projects that’ll be launching over the next two years.
A Brilliant Me is my way of taking my love for all things stationery from just being a consumer to a producer/creator of all things planners, notebooks, etc.
In Mercy’s Shadow is the forthcoming podcast series about the violence committed against disabled people. Being the stereotypical Millennial who has been fascinated by true crime, this is another example of me bringing a new perspective to a genre that deserves to learn more about our experiences in an ethical, disability rights + justice lens.
And in 2026, I’ll be celebrating 13 years of the establishment of Ramp Your Voice!, my first brainchild creation. In the new year, we’ll be launching the 2nd Ramp Your Voice! Conference, with even more incredible discussions and talents to share with the world about who we are as a people.
2025 was the blueprint and foundation laying year - 2026 will be about bringing these projects fully to life, and I cannot be more ecstatic about the launches, and responses, and the impact their respective presence will have on those who resonate with their missions.
A 4-photo collage of the various logos of Vilissa’s work. The top left photo is of Vilissa, dressed in a black long-sleeved top with a black and white striped skirt. The top right photo is the Ramp Your Voice! logo, which is purple with the RYV! initials in front. The bottom left photo is of In Mercy’s Shadow, which has a white background, with “In Mercy” in red font and “Shadow” is in black font. And the bottom right is A Brilliant Me logo, which has a periwinkle background with “A Brilliant” in white font and “Me” in yellow font with an underline. A yellow sun icon that’s meditating is to the left of the name.
Until Next Time…
Speaking of 2025 goals, launching this newsletter was on that list. And what a great time to share my thoughts with long-time supporters and newcomers!
Thank you for subscribing to my piece of the internet. I can’t wait to talk to you all in the new year - Happy Holidays!