June 30, 2019:
There are moments the life of a young adult where people question their identity as a person. When they question their history, roots, purpose and the people they’re supposed to include in their lives. It is a rollercoaster of what to expect and what you actually receive. Lately, my own thoughts and world consist of pressure, deadlines, and expectations that lead to disappointment. This is life, so I’m not complaining. However, the one thing in my head that I’m sure about is my mission within Breaking Walls to connect with my peers in communities across the globe.
I’m excited to travel to Tangier because I really want to share my experience with people back home that have low expectations of any country in Africa.
If you want to know what I really expect, I’ll tell you. Like the consistency throughout the past three years, I know we will meet a group of artists who want to tell their story. I know I will witness and learn to appreciate a culture I have no experience participating in or working with. I know I will have to adjust to certain ways of how I conduct myself to respect the said culture. I know I will enjoy every second I get of bonding with people who support our movement and want to join it.
I love what I do. I travel and write about my experiences. I learn and I come home and I share it to educate others and encourage them to visit other peoples and communities around the world. I do this because we always have expectations but we never see reality.
I expect to visit Africa again after this trip, multiple times. I wish to experience all of it and learn about my real roots. I’m often taught only the past 400 years of my history, and to touch the continent my ancestors originated from is something I will no longer have to dream about.
There is a small part of me that is concerned about how the image of an African American is portrayed around the world and how it might affect my welcome.
Media releases certain ideas and stereotypes that the average person outside of the United States will find disrespectful and even frightening. It is for this reason I wish to meet the people from Morocco and ask about some of their expectations of our Brooklyn and Detroit delegations. However, I cannot let this small concern impact my trip negatively. I will only be more conscious of my actions in completing this year’s mission.
This trip is an extremely important one for me. I want to learn so much about the different parts of Africa and connect with the people. I want to experience first hand the reality of Morocco, not just hear about it. Often people in America make negative comments about Africa and its people. The only story we see are commercials with starving children, and unfortunately, we are usually only given this image from publicized media. This immediately creates a negative and lasting first impression of the continent. I hope to shed light on the beauty of these countries and their people have to offer.
I’m excited to participate in the day of Community service, including working with young mothers, orphans or farming. I’m not sure which one I’ll be selected to participate in, but I know I am honored to put my efforts towards the Tangier community to help its people because that is the one expectation I fulfill wherever I go. I am excited to try their food and learn about their lifestyle, how it differs from mine.
I am expecting to speak with the Moroccan artists and learn about the issues in they face each day, I’m expecting to tell them we have the same issues and I am expecting to come up with an idea on how I can do something to either solve the issue or make it better known.
Most importantly, I expect inspiration. This will be a moment in my life where my passion for writing will be renewed. A moment where I discover what I want to do in my life, a moment where the pressure is lifted and deadlines are not crushing me. Visiting the continent of my ancestors is a huge deal for me. I plan on learning the truth about it from more than just one country and one culture.
My next Blogs from Tangier will touch on perspectives of Artists, Ambassadors and the adult team on our progress throughout the trip, and with help, I will provide a second mini blog series about our experience as an African American in an African Country.
I would like to thank Fran Tarr for this opportunity to learn from the people of a new community, which is always a pleasure and to put my skills to actual work. I plan on focusing my attention more directly on blogs, adding as much informative content as I can. I would also like to thank everyone who made this possible. Your donations, hostings, speeches, it’s all going towards a good cause: connecting young people across the globe as ambassadors for peace using the Arts. Each year we grow to include something new. I am proud of my global brothers and sisters experiencing 2019 Summit with me, young artists and peacemakers who I know are on a mission like me, to build bridges and not Walls.
