When it comes to creating, there’s a lot I take care of. I mostly care about showing my roots, where I’m from & what shaped my creative eye. My city over everything – I always want to make it proud! My city is super inspiring and beyond pretty. Its citizens are crazy, blunt, and diverse. No matter where our roots start – we go hard for the city. Nothing’s the same here. So much culture, history & good food. Mozart was here. Do you know about German literature? Schiller was here, too. Built like NYC (we were actually first) – a city of grids and yes, we are very multicultural. I love our melting pot. Further than that, I am addicted to stories. I guess through my NYC travels, I started to fall in love with talking to strangers or just listening closer. Everyone has a story to tell. My city got many brave souls wearing the coolest things with the best attitude supporting their whole being. I want to connect with the youth from my city, exchanging about something that seems to be so important today: sneakers. It’s more than a lifestyle, I guess. I grew up with sneakers, too, and I
am still addicted to getting the latest special releases. Back in the days, it was seen or appreciated differently, though. I experienced 50% good and 50% bad vibes… I want to hear the youth talk. I want to know their story, their motivation, and their inspiration. While creating this project, I realized how deep this actually goes. Kids trusted me and told me about their fears, problems at school, and even mental health came up. This generation is interesting to be studied, but we should also consider to engage to help the kids escaping from their nightmares. Many still face racism or the lack of money. I met refuges who had to start all over in a foreign country with an unknown and exotic language. To be honest…the educational system is fucked up here. It was hard hearing some stories, others made me laugh so hard, others made me proud to know that the city has its own tiny rockstars. I want the kid’s voices to be heard. I want you to look at them. Get inspired. Don’t judge. Connect. Learn to love and appreciate different cultures – it makes life so much sweeter.
I am here to share all of your stories. You deserve it. Thank your for supporting this project. & thank you to my city. I’m a proud daughter of yours.
THANK YOU TO EVERY KID WHO WASN‘T AFRAID TO STAND IN FRONT OF MY CAMERA. THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME INTO YOUR WORLD AND TRUSTING ME WITH YOUR PROBLEMS, FEARS, BUT ALSO PROUD MOMENTS. I HAD A BEAUTIFUL TIME CREATING THIS FIRST #STORY PROJECT AND I AM HAPPY TO SHARE THIS WITH THE NEXT GENERATION OF MY CITY. THESE ARE MY ROOTS AND I AM PROUD TO CALL MY HOME SUCH A DIVERSE CITY.
I LAUGHED SO MUCH WITH THESE KIDS, I WAS ALSO UPSET, MAYBE A BIT WORRIED AFTER SHOOTINGS, HEARING ALL THE STORIES. MAYBE I CAN REACH SOMEONE OUT THERE WHO UNDERSTANDS THAT WE NEED TO PUT A LOT OF ENERGY + WORK INTO THOSE KIDS SO THAT THEY WILL HAVE A BRIGHT FUTURE WITH NO MORE RACE ISSUES AND SOCIAL STATUS PROBLEMS. EVERYONE OF THE KIDS WAS A SPECIAL SOUL TO ME— THERE‘S MORE TO GET TO KNOW BEHIND EVERY SKIN COLOR, HEAD SCARF, OR MOTHER TONGUE. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO SEES THIS. YOUR MINUTES HERE ARE APPRECIATED.