In quarantine, my mind can’t help but gravitate back toward life outside: when I was undeniably happy. I pick out these little moments, and then I remember everything going on inside my head then. What I was feeling, and exactly why I was really happy. In this instance, I remembered a walk I took after school one day, past Trinity Church on a crowded street. This collision between a colonial past and the skyscrapers towering above me was exciting, so I wrote a little something about that feeling. Then I spoke, giving new life to these words.
Nonfiction
bloom in
“bloom in” is a very serious piece, which is different from how I usually write and act. But it represents me. I took the piece and thought about all the videos and photos I had of myself, my family and my friends, and it was like two sides of me. The me that is figuring out who I am and questioning it all, and the me that shows my face every day.
An Ode to Wanderlust
Have you ever traveled the world through words alone? Exploring each place not as someone who wants great pictures or a story to show off, but someone who truly wants to feel the core of what it represents? I have—I’ve traveled and written about the emotions and the memories I haven’t really made. Using Google Maps, I wrote poems about select countries I’ve never been to, and used it as a way to travel the globe. Though difficult, using elements of each country, I’ve managed to paint a picture of how I view them and their importance to me.
claiming my place
This project is a reflection on the internal journey I’ve been going through for the past few years.
Ring of Salt
Have you ever questioned your beliefs? Have you ever thought about the impact your beliefs have on you or how other people with different beliefs live? In this podcast, we’ll be talking about different spiritual paths and religions.
Fresh Kills Transformation
What was once the largest landfill in the world before closing in 2001 happens to be within my hometown and community of Staten Island. Since then, the landscape has been engineered to become the largest park in New York City. This landfill has greatly affected the health of those in my community. By conducting research to better understand the effects of the landfill on the climate and public health, I realized how my interests can merge and benefit public knowledge of this space. To have my voice heard beyond what can be accomplished in a social media post, I decided to write a script and assemble audio to create a podcast. Through this podcast, others can learn about benefits and concerns relating to the parks department-led engineering project.
Begin at the Beginning
I decided to focus on bringing awareness to mental health, which is a topic that means a lot to me. I want to bring voice to those who have felt silenced. My work is titled “Begin at the Beginning” because sometimes that is what we have to do. It was also the title of a favorite childhood book of mine.
Girls on Film
Something that has always plagued me about female characters is whether they offer an accurate representation of women or are just “[women] written by socially awkward men who’d like to believe that [these] kind of [women] exist and might kiss them” (Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn). This idea is something I tried to explore in my multimedia presentation.
To All the Friends I’ve Loved Before
There’s no me without all of you.
The Pink Hijab with Sparkles…I wore Only Once
During the last days of summer vacation, I was watching the television show Teen Wolf when my mother said to me…
In School Brown Boys Wear Green
“I don’t want to go to college. I want to go to war.”
For Mami Y Papi
his project I have is a project close to me as it goes through the journey of self reflection and of healing generational trauma. I try to find my mom’s father as well as finding out my dad’s family who, to my knowledge, have either passed or changed their name. This is my best project because it is a reflection of a common wound that kids like me have. Identity issues are prevalent in people of color and this helps me gain some sort of closure with my family as well as help my mom heal.
In Flux
You are slowly becoming the person you always wanted to be.
Uncle (Let’s Say) Bob
I fought off my first monster at age five.
By Grace, through love
You are the outer Grace; I am the inner.