I am a girl who likes to see the glass half full. A girl who sees the sky as partly sunny not partly cloudy. A girl who tries to be optimistic in the worst times. That might be the reason that I have found myself in the place I am now. I see Detroit as a beautiful city filled with wonderful people and handsome opportunity. However, recently I had a conversation about reality. Which got me thinking, what is reality?

According to Google, reality is “the world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.”

Yes, indeed I do see the rougher side of things. The side of misrepresented or misunderstood people, the side of greed, anger and crime – just to name a few of the things that Detroit has. But that does not mean that I should ignore what’s beautiful.
I live in a beautiful world where the trees, grass, flowers and buildings around me are all works of art. People, whether tall, small, Caucasian, African American or Indian – we are all human and wonderful. Our laughter, our cries, our fears and our hopes make us all simply beautiful. As one who is constantly told to “be realistic,” I would like to say just because I see the bad and the good does not mean I do not live in reality.
Reality is complex and has both good and bad – and I think that, in Detroit, we are constantly reminded of the hardships, but need to also remind ourselves of the good.