Something to Inspire : Personal Meccas are REAL

My people,
Usually when the weekend rolls around, I just post a party schedule or funny photos from the week. Thats dope n all, but this weekend I want to leave yall with something of a bit more substance.
In 05 I ran away from LA to Brooklyn. I really needed some time to see what else was out there, and to really grow up and out as a person. While I was in BK I kept a journal of my experiences as a way to later reflect on where I was at that time. Well now, 3 years later, I am reflecting. And now Im ready to share.

As you go through this piece, use it as a tool to consider your own situations in life, and use it to help put things into perspective. I want you to feel what I felt, and then use that to empower yourself and the community as we impact it day by day.

Sept 28, 2005 : Kyla Wright

A lot has happened here in new york. Ive met tons of people, lived a life Ive never lived, seen things Ill probably never see again. Brooklyn feels like home. There are many moments that I wish this was my real life, not a warp in time (or a so-called vacation). New york air is worse than cali, but out here I feel like I can really breathe. Im looked at as "different" by most people I encounter; they appreciate me in ways most dont back home. Everything is different here. I can eat vegetarian food all day every day like I want to and watch peoples lives through the window of the apartment. I can take the train and end up anywhere or stay at home and do absolutely nothing all day. The people I meet are so much more true out here...even the hustlers are true to their trade. The industry people are about building and progress, not "lets do lunch" type of connections. Many of the men are more crude, but even that usually yields a laugh. I passed an old woman today, Jamaican I believe, and smiled to her and said hello. Her scent took me somewhere---she smelled like grandmothers ought to smell. It was like I remembered her though she was a perfect stranger. If I still had a grandmother, Im sure she would smell sweet and aged and perfect, just like the woman I passed today. A few days ago I was in Manhattan watching football with some friends at a restaurant. After the games had ended we went passed a festival celebrating Muslim culture and religion. There were booths and videos, hair wraps and incense for sale. People preached and debated their beliefs while others knelt and prayed to their god, right there on the street. These Muslim people transformed a park in Manhattan to holy ground and a hub for their culture. Women with only their eyes on display passed us by and offered to teach us their ways. We declined and they nodded to us, their expressions never changing. This experience was beautiful to me; I saw commitment in the peoples eyes in that festival. I saw the dedication to their god and their way of living. It made me reflect on my commitment to MY God, and the stance that I take as a child of the King who is (like the Muslims in the park) not afraid to be 100% ME. The few moments we spent in that park will stay with me forever. Every day we go for walks near the house when school lets out. Children of all sizes and colors surround me, with hair in millions of braids and wrinkled school uniforms as they rush home to change into their play clothes. I watch with excitement as the streets flood with hopscotch and bicycles, basketball and laughter. I see kids every day, eating government grilled cheese and whatever groceries WIC can by; kids who dont even know theyre poor. Kids with obvious hand-me-downs and dirty shoes, carrying lunches in black plastic bags who are more content than those of us who have the luxury of 'options'. Ive been inspired by these children. And inspired by the old ladies who's scent I long for almost daily. Im inspired by jamaicans and west indians and regular ol black people who just try to get by as best they can. I am inspired by the commitment to their cultures. And blessed just to be here to bask in it.