Ok, maybe not South Detroit, so for those of you who don’t know me, I’ll give you a little background (since I don’t have much to write about regarding this excursion right now):
I’m 23 years old and I was born and raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, about 15 miles Northwest of Detroit (the city where the weak are killed and eaten). Bloomfield is an amazing (though sometimes incredibly boring) suburb that I’m just now remembering how much I missed and how beautiful it is in the autumn since I’m here to stay for the first time in six years. My father is from Jamaica, my mother from Canada, and I’ve recently found out I’m an ancestral cultural mutt of extreme proportions. Anyway, they met while at college in Long Island, both ended up working for General Motors, and were therefore transferred to the Motor City shortly before I was born. I have an older sister, Carolyn (though I never refer to her by that name). She’s 28, went to Michigan State University and has the coolest dog in the world, Teddy (aka the love of my life).
In 2004 I graduated from Lahser High School and deliberately went to college out of state in order to get a new experience (a theme of mine you’ll notice). So, in August of that year I moved to Upstate New York to attend Syracuse University. Originally intending on studying sports broadcasting, I soon changed my mind and ended up studying both communications and sport management. I had a pleasant stint in Army ROTC, though I didn’t end up contracting. While at ‘Cuse I was involved in several other organizations, including SU’s Sport Management Club and Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed service fraternity. Junior year, I studied abroad at Syracuse’s London Center, one of the most enlightening experiences of my life. I got to travel, learn about new cultures (and myself in the process), and made some incredible friends. I graduated in May 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Communication & Rhetorical Studies, with a concentration in Sport Management. It should have been a second major in SPM, but at the time I did a summer internship with Palace Sports & Entertainment (the organization behind the Detroit Pistons and Shock pro basketball teams), they weren’t allowing summer internships to fulfill the internship requirement. And a couple weeks ago I figured out I was a mere two classes short of a minor in European History as well… so much for planning courses correctly to get the most of my education!
Since I loved London so much the first time, I decided to go back after graduation on a BUNAC six-month student visa. As I was a broke college grad, I had to save up some money before going, so I left Detroit and moved to my mother’s in New Jersey and worked in a fancy wine store named Best Cellars. In December, I crossed the Pond with a friend, not knowing where I would even be sleeping the first night until right before we boarded the plane. We struggled for a while (who knew the British shut down everything for like a month surrounding Christmas?!), but eventually we both got on our feet and had a great experience. I worked at a pub in the East End called The Golden Heart, a quirky and bustling little joint that’s been family run for the last 30 years and is a favorite of many of London’s top artists, designers and musicians. The landlady herself was named as the 80th most influential people in art due to this association. June quickly came around and I had to leave, so I went to Nice for a week before returning to Detroit exactly one year after I left it.
Now, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past several years, you should be aware that Detroit is the very last place you want to be if you’re looking for a job. Oh goody, I’m back, unemployed and have very little experience in anything relating to my field. Not to mention that I really want to do Bike & Build (the reason I’m starting this blog) next summer—ALL of next summer—so I will have to leave whatever job I have for 2.5 months, if they’ll even take me back after that long. Not to sound pessimistic, but…well, there’s no way around that situation being less than ideal. I did just started working in sales at Banana Republic, though, so don’t worry, I’ll be able to pay my bills.
As for Bike & Build, I like to describe it as: Habitat for Humanity meets Tour de France. Basically what goes on is you fundraise to bike cross-country and build affordable housing along the way. My friend Victoria told me about it while I was in London and I was immediately interested since it combines three of my favorite things—travel, athletics and service. Upon returning to my downtrodden Detroit, where layoffs and foreclosures are all you hear about on the news, I made joining Bike & Build a top priority. So, I filled out the application, wrote the essays, and now I’m waiting to hear where I’ll be spending my time next summer. Exciting! Let the fundraising and new Journey (bah-dum-chee!) begin!
A few unique facts about yours truly:
-Been to France for lunch (just lunch) twice
-Walked across an entire country (Monaco)
-Never had a nose bleed
-Voted on the 2008 Grammys
-Gone cliff diving and surfing in Wales
-Though there’s no reasoning behind it, I’ve been a lifelong Notre Dame Football fan
-SCUBA dove in Nice
-Bobsled in Lake Placid
-Slept for 20 hours straight once
-Had an entire building complex evacuated because a dining hall brownie caught on fire in my microwave
-Thoroughly enjoy target shooting
yer awesome :)
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