Dear NYC: A High-Schooler’s Take On Life
By Anne Rhee
Race, as a visual marker, affects our daily lives —whether it be through making snap judgments or the Model Minority stereotype. Discussions of race tend to be neglected in academic institutions themselves: the questions of both how to include rather than exclude and how to better diversify communities continually rise. In this podcast, I address these imperative issues, because in New York City, which is home to large immigrant populations, such information is relevant—especially for other students of color. Through a high schooler’s perspective, I hope to start future conversations and take us steps closer to finding a solution.
Process
After learning about the fundamentals of podcast production (and running out of time), I wanted to continue exploring the topic of race in academic institutions by recording a podcast. Bill de Blasio’s implementation of the Discovery program is controversial, and while this is centered around my own opinions, I hope it’ll spark future discussions about how disparities within admissions systems affect minorities through racial stereotyping and structural disadvantages. While it was extremely different from writing itself, I found the process rewarding and look forward to creating more multimedia projects like this one in the future.
Meet the Pair
MENTEE ANNE RHEE & MENTOR SUNNY LEE
Anne’s Anecdote: From talking about poetry and bonding over short fiction writers like Celeste Ng, to juggling junior year with our monthly meetings at the New Museum and Union Square Park alike, I’m so grateful for how transformative the Girls Write Now program has been in both expanding my perspective of writing and the world and also giving me the opportunity to meet my mentor, Sunny. She continually pushes me to be confident in my writing and offers amazing advice, but also challenges me to think outside of writing as I know it.
Sunny’s Anecdote: Anne is staking her claim to history with her fierce ambition and nuanced ideas about what it means to be Korean American living in New York City today. Every time we meet, she has a million things going on (not an exaggeration), yet she carves out space to meditate on race, which, in turn, informs the way I think about my own identity. I’m in awe of Anne’s poetry and constantly learn from her writing and ideas. And much like the great Asian American poets before her, I have no doubt her poetry and prose will make her a formidable force as she continues to write.
Anne Rhee
Anne Rhee is a writer based in NYC. She began writing poetry for fun three years ago and has recently started writing short stories and different multimedia pieces. She likes to focus on themes such as immigration, generational divides, and language. Her pieces have been published in the Girls Write Now Anthology and the Stuyvesant Spectator. She was also a recipient of two Bronze Honorable Mentions from the Scholastic Writing competition. In her free time, she likes to make Pinterest boards, lists, and listen to Ariana Grande.
