My Home
Destiny Carrion is currently a freshman at Ithaca College studying Integrated Marketing Communications with a minor in Latino/a/x studies, with a goal to make change in her community and those similar to it.
“I remember watching television shows when I was younger and the main character would always want to move to New York. I couldn’t understand it.”
By Destiny Carrion
When I was younger my grandma used to say I had a microphone in my mouth. I was a loud kid and wherever we went, whether it be the train station or the bus stop, I was heard. So I guess it makes sense that someone as loud and energetic as myself comes from the city that never sleeps.
However, despite the comparisons, I desperately wanted to live in a house far away with a white picket fence. I remember watching television shows when I was younger and the main character would always want to move to New York. I couldn’t understand it. What they were trying to escape, I wanted to run away to. It wasn’t until I was much older when I began to see the magic of where I come from. A subway system that takes you anywhere, unlimited food options, fire hydrants as sprinklers during block parties. The city contains an energy that’s unmatched, and the memories I’ve made in my 17 years far surpass those of a Disney Channel Sitcom. Yet, within a sea of diamonds there are always bound to be rocks. Behind the Broadway stages and beneath the concrete sidewalks, there are deeply rooted systemic issues that need to be addressed. From poverty to racism to the lack of educational equity and beyond. I live in Bed Stuy, but I was sent to school in Park Slope, one of the wealthiest areas in Brooklyn, in order to get a better education. I had a hard time fitting in. I was a Puerto Rican girl amongst white kids. I didn’t live down the block like the other kids. I couldn’t relate to their time at their summer houses or expensive camps. But what I found to be the most upsetting in all of this was the preconceived notions of my neighborhood.
“It’s the ghetto.”
“Oh yea no I’d never shop at a Dollar Tree.”
“Well you don’t act like you’re from there.”
Yes, my neighborhood isn’t perfect. However, we speak the language of family, of hard work, of love. Yet, the same people who taught these children to look down on my home now want to move in. Family owned companies have disappeared. I grew up going to Fat Albert, where we would buy everything from shower curtains to plastic Christmas trees. Now it’s a Chipotle and a Starbucks. Gentrification is all I see when I step outside. Just recently they built an artisanal health food shop and named it “Bodega.” Disrespecting the Latino communities who immigrated and or migrated to this city and needed to have quick food options. That store I passed wasn’t a bodega, but it was an embarrassment.
My biggest goal for New York is to give back to the heart of it. The people who live in the apartments next to me, the city workers, the truck drivers. I want to create a non-profit that benefits their children. I want to provide affordable test prep. Though New York City allows every student the opportunity to go to non-zoned schools, not having the correct preparation makes it harder for low income and POC students to get accepted. My parents had the ability to send me to nicer schools because my grandma worked within the district. However, not many students near me have these same opportunities. Going to a middle school in Park Slope was most likely the reason I’m in performing arts high school today. A student from my area could have the same amount of talent as me, but because of the lack of educational equity in our city, they most likely weren’t prepared properly for the auditions. A similar issue occurs in applying to Specialized High Schools. I took the entrance exam, which was free. However, the tutoring was not. So I had to figure it out myself. I didn’t pass, but it wasn’t detrimental to my future because I wanted to go to a school focused on music. However, for many, passing the SHSAT could be the difference between going to a school that will prepare you for college or not. I don’t want that to be an issue for anyone. I want students like myself to have opportunities right outside their doorsteps. When I imagine a new and improved New York City, I see one where your income doesn’t set you back. Where ambition instead of privilege is the path to greatness, and I’m hopeful that one day soon I'll make this the reality.