Dear Aasha,
Before you arrived at Wayne State on Saturday, you had already named the 9 weeks you would be there your “Summer Soundtrack – Independent Woman Edition”. So each blog post will be tied to that theme somehow. You’re already used to not living with your parents, but this is a totally different type of environment than you’re used to. 3 days in an you’re already over cooking for yourself every meal (can’t believe you miss the dining hall). Nonetheless, the experiences you’re sure to have in the future will be worth spending a little extra time in the kitchen everyday.
Even though you haven’t even been working for a week, you already feel at home at the Chandler Park Conservancy. Yvette and Alex are great bosses (and people) and have welcomed you with open arms. They have given you the opportunity to give input on decisions for the project you will be working on primarily. You expect this summer to spend the summer doing something you are passionate about, which is making a difference in some child’s life. Creating, supervising, and evaluating a youth summer camp seems to be a large project, but you’re glad that you have Rai working with you so it doesn’t seem like such a huge feat. By the end of the summer you hope to learn more about the “moving parts” that create an organization and gain valuable program planning skills. Additionally, you hope to grow a strong connection with Yvette and Alex so you can continue to work with them in the future, especially since you love Detroit so much.
Detroit is your home. You may not have lived there, but you have a strong connection to it. When you were younger, you loved “going down the town” and riding on the People mover, walking along the river walk, or going to the Tastefest. You loved having cousin sleepovers at your grandparent’s house and walking to the McDonald’s on 7 mile for breakfast. You loved visiting your great aunt who lived near Livernois even though you were kinda afraid of her dogs. You loved Detroit’s charm. Sure, it wasn’t in the best shape physically, but your family members always told you about the different memories they had of certain buildings so you were willing to over look certain things. However, now, you don’t even recognize your home. Expensive high rises and pricy boutiques have taken over the streets you once loved. Place your family members used to frequently go to are disappearing. Sure some areas do look better, but it kinda breaks your heart that things aren’t the same as they were before. Maybe by the end of these weeks you’ll be able to find some good in this new Detroit.
Hang in there kid,
Aasha
Song of the week: The Ways by Khalid, Swae Lee
I’ve been trying to cook every night too but I’ve been so tired and lazy after work 🙁 It’s been a great week with you so far and I think we’re going to have so much fun together this summer! The city has changed a lot over the years, but great things are starting to happen to revive the city and I think the end result will be satisfying!