Heyoo Nina,
Your first week of DCBRP has been kind of something like cool.
You spent your fourth evening here avoiding the freeways, and passing by three of the apartment buildings you used to live in, and two of the churches you spent most of your childhood. You thought you would have to search for these things, or at least ask your older siblings to point you in the right direction, but you didn’t–and something about passing by your old homes without having to look for them made Detroit feel pretty right to you.
You can’t help but think that you’re romanticising it all though. Because while this is the same city you found your favorite color and ice cream flavor in, it was also the same city your family decided to leave. You were a kid when you all did, and so everything seems to be painted with roses, but you know you would be a fool to think you have the perspective to say so. You’ve only spent a few days here, and a few days researching, and you’re already realizing how few resources Detroit has as compared to some of its surrounding cities.
So you’ve got them rose-tinted glasses, but you’re hoping a summer emersed in Detroit, a summer spent learning of its strengths and its weaknesses can help you see its beauty without the use of any filter. That through this internship and this program, you’ll find a real connection to the city again.
There is a lot more to gain through this summer too though. You’re hoping to make a few good friends along the way, and to learn from the experience and expertise of everyone in DCBRP, and in Bridging Neighborhoods Program.
You’re a little intimidated by your role in your internship. It’s kind of hard to gauge how independent you’re supposed to be, and it’s scary that you’re supposed to produce all the “Deliverables” you were assigned today in just eight weeks–but you know every one of them will be a chance for you to push yourself forward and to grow, a chance to make things a little bit easier on your coworkers, and maybe a chance to offer your own creative thought to the problems that arise.
I hope your day is honey,
Nina Hesse
P.S. I am giving you two weeks tops before you either decide to join your carpool, or to give in and buy a parking pass, because waking up and getting out of the house by 7:00 am is not a sustainable practice.
Nina,
I loved reading your post! Thanks so much for sharing how you think/want your perspective of Detroit to change. I think it’s really great that you’re thinking about how perspective can truly change the way you see something even when it hasn’t changed, but you have. I hope that living in Detroit this summer gives us both some more perspective on what the city is really like.
Good luck getting around buying a parking pass!