This erasure poem is a visual representation of my own writing process. You can see the crossing out of words as well as the words I had to write back in. Sharing any kind of writing is an innately intimate experience, but this specifically feels personal for the way that it displays my mistakes as well as the final project.
Serious
The Perfect American
The Perfect American tells the stories of immigrants detained by ICE. Every episode is centered around a different detainee. Each with a different story, a different perspective, and a different relationship with America. In this country, where not everyone qualifies as American, these people deserve a chance to be heard. A chance to prove themselves, to show who they are outside of what the media spews about them. These are the Perfect Americans, the people who strive to be a part of a nation that doesn’t want them.
All Of My Maybes
The sun rising, the birds chirping, the light morning breeze and the sweet smell of spring in the air—the narrator of my short story looks out at the melancholic scene playing out before her. All she can think about as she watches the sky is how her life could be if she wasn’t afraid of adventure. All of us have struggled with venturing out into the unknown. Like the narrator, most of us find ourselves sitting down and contemplating what life could be like. It’s fictional, but she’s still me. That’s why this represents my best work.
Changed Lives
My podcast is about immigration and how it affects families. This episode sheds light on the difficult lives immigrants lead. My life as an immigrant inspired me to share this.
This represents my best work in the program because this is a topic that I can relate to. I don’t know what it’s like to be separated from one’s family, but I can imagine how challenging it would be.
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.
Behind the Scenes of Nightmares
I was inspired when I had sleep paralysis for the first time, and I want other people to feel it as well, how nightmares love to play around. This represents my best work in the program this year. Women are not afraid of fear.
Love Through My Eyes
Feeling bummed out because all of your friends have a Valentine? Still waiting for your Peter Kavinsky or John Ambrose? Then you’re not alone—check out my video to see how I coped with being single and why it might not be the end of the world for either of us.
anxiety
At one time or another, we’ve all experienced loneliness and/or anxiety. Now more than ever, teenagers are constantly being mentally attacked and feel like there is no way out. I want to show that although times get rough and people leave, you will always be permanent in your own life and battles against anxiety, loneliness, and any other mental disease. The only way out is through. Fight for your happiness because you deserve it.
Looking for Mercy, Stuck in a Nightmare
These poems explore the injustices of the criminal justice system in America. Too many people have been targeted. Too many people have been wronged.
Getting Out of the Struggle
“Getting Out of the Struggle” informs you on an average person’s life, about a situation they were once in, and how they got out of it.
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.
you through my eyes
This podcast is an adventure in interpersonal relationships. I asked my mother to share three songs she associated with herself. Meanwhile, I compiled my own three-song playlist of tunes that I associated with her. The intent behind this piece was to demonstrate how women perceive themselves versus how other women perceive them. It’s a reminder that there’s strength within each of us that we ourselves cannot always see.
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.
Embrace It
When creating this piece, I wanted to embrace a little piece of cultural diversity in the U.S., but also show that historically, diversity hasn’t been welcome here. The piece is a reminder that just because we get along better now, there are still societal problems that aren’t solved.
pink
“pink” is a poem rooted in social commentary. In this poem, I examine my own internalized misogyny, and how it influenced my actions as I was growing up. The history of “gendered” colors is a fascinatingly peculiar one, as blue was once considered tame and feminine, while the “blood-resembling” pink was gallant and masculine.