Besides swimming, my other favorite summer activity is being in the hood. There’s something inviting about being there on summer afternoons instead of my quiet suburbs. Everyone’s out on their front steps, the kids are playing, and you hear the faint sounds of ice cream machines and sirens. You’ll find adults conversing amongst themselves, young boys playing soccer, children running in and out of corner stores buying themselves treats with their loose change. I’ve lived in my neighborhood for five years now, and I don’t know my next door neighbor’s name. My parents and I identify our neighbors by their nationalities or by describing their houses. I know the neighbors of my friends who reside in Newark and Irvington. In the ‘burbs, we don’t have chances to mingle at neighborhood block parties or when we come to catch a breeze outside trying to dodge the unbearable heat that’s trapped indoors. Everyone seems to run into their homes and stay there, and when we do catch glances at each other, we’ll give the occasional passionless ‘hey’ or the unenthusiastic headnod.  I always feel more aware and naturally happy in the hood than I do in my neighborhood. On most of my summer evenings, you’ll catch me in Newark until my parents beg for me to come home. 

• American Museum of Natural History
• Brooklyn Historical Society
• Brooklyn Museum
• Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
• El Museo del Barrio
• Jewish Museum
• Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)
• Museum of Modern Art (MoMa)
• Museum of Sex
• New Museum
• New York Historical Society
• New York Public Library
• Newark Museum
• Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
• Whitney Museum of American Art

The longest and most passionate love affair I’ve been in is with the city of Newark. I wasn’t raised to far from there. I’m in Newark everyday of the week. At night when I can’t sleep if I’m not driving through the mountains, then I’m sneaking away to Newark. I always knew that I wanted to go to college in Newark. I’ve never gotten tired of it, as a history junkie, there’s always more to learn and see. On my days off, I drive around Newark with my camera to take photos. It’s so diverse and all I ever see in Newark in beauty. People, too often, misjudge Newark based on its appearance. The Newark I know today isn’t the Newark that I knew ten years ago. It has changed for the better, this city has worked hard, and is trying to improve itself. It makes me sad that very few people see the Newark that I know and love. But I’d rather keep Newark to myself, I’ll just continue to be enamored with Newark.

I started my Newark Graffiti Post Project. For a while, I’ve been driving around Newark looking for graffiti. Today, with my cousin’s help and camera, she helped me start. There’s so much beauty in Newark that people don’t see, I’d like to show it to them. It’s one of my favorite cities.