So it’s week 6 here in Detroit and slowly but surely I’m becoming more familiar with my surroundings. Midtown, downtown, in Highland Park where I work, and other various places I need to drive around. It feels cool to be able to know where certain streets or buildings are without having to use my GPS or asking someone. I feel much more at ease, and this is significant to me because I was hyped up so much by friends and family before coming here. By this I mean that I was constantly told that Detroit is a crime filled, war zone of a city, with nothing to offer me but dangerous living conditions. Every week my parents say that they want me at home, not working here in Detroit where my life is threatened. I didn’t believe the hype before, and I certainly don’t now. Yes, crime is higher here. There are also a lot more abandoned buildings and poor upkeep of communities. But those are the only things people have to say about Detroit that don’t give it a chance. Those are things people say who have never even been here for more than a couple hours! The word “Detroit” automatically sparks emotions having to with fear and distaste.
Just this past weekend, in my hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan, there were 5 shootings and 3 fatalities in a “not so good” part of town. In fact, there is a street in my city notorious for shootings, violence, and drugs. Yet this street, and this part of the community, are often ignored and everyone focuses on the great things Kalamazoo has to offer. Detroit has a similar situation, except there are more “not so good” areas because the city is large. And these are the things and places people divert their attention to because it is on a larger scale and gets more coverage. So no family and friends, I am not afraid of being mugged or shot on my way to the Wayne State track 5 minutes from my dorm. Just like you don’t fear walking down the road despite living 4 miles away from the street where 5 people were shot. I will never stop trying to convince others that Detroit is so little of what they’ve heard. The building I work in may not look luxurious or modern, but the work being done inside is great, and this applies to sooo many other places in this city. The close mindedness people show towards an entire city makes me frustrated, and this encourages me to be more open and explore things for myself rather than fall into the assumptions of everyone else.
