Just as Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind” lyric “what dreams are made of” were famously misinterpreted as “wet dream tomato,” these memoirs reflect many unique interpretations of the city we call home.
Shuttling between two neighborhoods, Flushing, Queens, and the Upper East Side, this story follows a girl’s journey to school. Along her commute, she discovers her identity and the meaning of hard work and perseverance.
After attending a Girls Write Now workshop on audio diaries, because we could no longer meet face-to-face due to the New York Covid-19 lockdown, we decided to communicate by audio diary. We began recording during the early days of the lockdown (April 7) and ended with the election of Biden (November 7).