I survived! Inventor of the padded bike short, I thank you. Back in January, when I first came up with this idea, I brought it up to my two coworkers, Moon and David, one morning on our carpool to work. Their response, “Sure! When is it? May? Oh yeah, no problem, we have plenty of time […]
Since January I have been planning a great biking excursion. May is National Bike Month and in an effort to raise awareness around alternate modes of transit, I have decided to bike to work on May 14th. As I am preparing mentally for the 20+ mile trip from my house in Detroit to my office […]
“So…is Detroit what you expected?” This is often the question I get asked whenever I go home to Iowa or catch up in phone conversations or emails with friends, classmates, and professors. The answer to this question is not as simple as “yes” or “no.” In my opinion, to have expectations limits one’s ability to […]
With the year four Challenge Detroit applications being open until March 8th, I felt compelled to dig through my old correspondence around this time last year.
My first hearing of Challenge Detroit was on February 20th, 2014. It was a normal Thursday evening in Oregon when I received an email from a peer who was a […]
As I mentioned back in my very first blog post, I did not own a car until moving to Detroit in August. Growing up on a farm, I learned how to drive at a young age. At 15 I earned my school permit which allowed me to drive, sans parents, to and from school and […]
This holiday break was my first time home to Iowa since moving to Detroit in August. While visiting my grandparents, I realized the similarities between the hard-working farmers with whom I was raised and the hard-working Detroiters with whom I now choose to learn from and live amongst. This blog post highlights one such farmer and […]
November was a busy month! I have included my top 5 activities, however, this list does not represent the the extent of said November activities–just a few of my favorites.
1. Started reading the book, The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit.
While I intended to get to this book before I […]
I am stepping back in time a bit for this month’s post. My second visit to Detroit occurred this past March. I was here in the city for 5 days conducting archival research for my thesis (one of my chapters is on the Old Wayne County Building). I was also reaching out to professionals in […]
As I write this I am curled up and shivering in my bed with a low grade fever so I apologize if things get a bit disjointed. One month ago today I excitedly moved into my Detroit abode in Woodbridge–with my parents and sister in tow–love them.
In the days leading up to becoming a Michigander, […]