07.24 | VSNRY

“Sight is what you see with your eyes, vision is what you see with your mind.”
—Robert Kiyosaki

I have always had a vivid imagination, probably most vibrant as a kid. Many times, I have looked up in my present to recognize that I was living in what was once a future idea, belief or dream of mine.

For example, I vividly remember watching “Boyz N the Hood” as a kid and deciding “I am going to California.” This was when I, like many NYkers who had never been, thought Cali meant LA specifically. 😎 A little over a decade later, I arrived for my first day of undergrad at Occidental College, situated in an enclave called Eagle Rock, just north of LA proper.

I still remember coming home to visit and the homies asking “how is cali?” and hoping to dispel media driven overemphasis on black criminality I remarked that I had been to “the hood” and described the parts of it that felt like home. Imagine my surprise when encountering the projects in Cali… to me they looked more like row-houses than the storied buildings I was familiar with back in Queens.

After a few frantic calls from loved ones worried about something they’d seen on the news, but many miles from where I was, it felt important to relay exactly how large Cali was. I explained that I could drive 6 hours north and STILL be in the state. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was definitely foreshadowing. So many of my homies at Oxy were from the Bay Area that I decided then I needed to move there. AND DID. To Oakland, my second home, where I would live for a solid 10 years.

Over this past weekend, I had an exciting chat with an old friend from my second home. It was nice to catch up and connect but also to mirror and be mirrored. So much about that place we love has changed, but my memories remain. On the call, she said “You’re a visionary… I am too.” That recognition definitely stopped me in my tracks, for more than a few reasons, but I’ll be damned if it aint the truth.

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