Why Us?

I have been a storyteller for as long as I can remember. Playing outside with my neighborhood friends or various sports teammates, coming up with overimaginative plots for us to reenact as a kids, greatly shaped my ability to broadcast my creative thoughts from a young age. As the youngest child of four, I have always had this innate urge to make sure I was seen and heard everywhere I went and as I got older the desire to tell stories never went away. At the kitchen table with family, I was always first to narrate my day. I took pride in reflecting on the highs and lows at school or expressing my excitement for all of my weekend plans in the most engaging way possible and I was always drawn to people who did the same. This led me to a career in broadcast journalism. At first, I didn’t know if I had the best writing or research skills to be in this field, but I did know that I was a passionate storyteller and that is what kept me going.

Over the course of my career in local news, I have consistently helped tell other people’s stories. By doing so, I gained new skills such as active listening, public speaking and extreme organization but I always felt that there was something was missing. It wasn’t until I moved to another city, became a mother and started seeing the world through my child’s eyes that I remembered the stories I used to tell in my own childhood. I realized that the stories I loved telling the most and that others were most engaged in were my own stories, stories about my life.

Being a young mother of two in a new city can be overwhelming and lonely, so I have spent the last couple of months trying to find “my people” or my community. While on my journey, I was delighted to find out that I was not alone. There were so many other young people of color out there, in my position, longing for new opportunities to meet each other. I figured, if we’re all out here searching for the same thing, why not document my own findings and make it easier for us to gather. I started this blog to allow young new residents of Syracuse to truly find a sense of community as they navigate their current surroundings. This blog will be a firsthand account of my attendance at various community events, anywhere from networking events for young professionals to family friendly festivals or even a good old-fashioned kid free girl’s night out. The hope is that when you come across this blog, you will be able to find something to get involved in and start living a more fulfilling life. I'm excited to not only continue telling stories about me, but also telling new stories about us as we navigate our community together.