Life is short.
Carpe diem.
YOLO.
These are phrases I came to embody in my Challenge Detroit fellowship year.
From the moment I crossed the Detroit-Windsor border on September 25th, 2014, I knew that my time in this city was limited. Despite Detroit being only a stone’s throw away from Canada (literally – you could probably skip a rock […]
For a carless person in a city with extremely limited public transit, Uber has been a lifesaver on more than one occasion. For those unfamiliar with the app, Uber connects riders with drivers using your phone’s GPS. Not only is the service incredibly convenient, it’s actually really affordable in Detroit – a 7-minute, 2-mile trip costs about […]
Seven months ago, I walked into my host company Mango Languages with an open mind, few expectations, and ideas. A lot of them. Some were good, some were great, and many were mediocre at best. Lucky for me, new ideas are welcome at Mango. Whether your ideas are good or great (less so for the mediocre ones), as a Mango you are […]
It took a visit from a friend to open my eyes to the (literal) darkness of Detroit’s streets. Earlier this month, my dear friend Iain spent part of his Spring Break visiting me in Detroit (you read that right.. Spring Break in Detroit!). Soon after his arrival, we embarked on a brief 10-minute walk from my […]
Detroit is in crisis, and not that many people are talking about it. The prevailing Detroit narrative we see day-to-day in the media is one of resurgence and revitalization, of development and growth – one that blatantly ignores the reality currently faced by 93,733 native Detroiters. Their Detroit is one that may, due to unpaid property taxes, forcibly […]
For the better parts of October, November, December and January, I experienced mild to severe reactions to an unidentified allergen. Having never suffered from allergies before (not pets, not pollen, not peanuts), it took me quite some time to realize what was happening to me. For a few weeks, I believed that my red swollen […]
Looking back, my past few months in Detroit have been nothing short of a whirlwind. While I experienced my fair share of obstacles, the good (great!) times far outshine the rest. In counting down to 2015, here are my top 10 Detroit moments of 2014:
10) Detroit Urban Craft Fair – Of the 5 holiday markets around Detroit I visited […]
I love talking to strangers. I derive unparalleled joy from meeting new people, listening to their stories, and learning about their lives. A few months ago, however, an interaction I had made me hesitant to approach other strangers in Detroit.
It was the last weekend of September, and we fellows were presenting our redesigned bus shelters […]
I’ve probably been more active on social media in the past month than I have been in the past year. Specifically, I’ve been posting about my new life in Detroit.
At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about our Challenge Detroit program expectation to post positively about Detroit. As someone with a relatively limited presence on social media […]
Without a doubt, the single question I have been asked most often over the past few months (with the burning inquiry of what I planned to do post-graduation taking a close second) has been “Why Detroit?”. Whether accompanied by confusion, skepticism or curiosity, everyone I have spoken to regarding Challenge Detroit (e.g. just about every individual I have interacted with since […]