This is the first of 3 pieces about my time as a student in New York City (the second one is here, and the third is here). Please note: sensitive content involving drugs and violence ahead. Body in the stairwell, body in the street, body in the Thunderdome. New York City in the fall of ‘92, the night the clocks go back and daylight tucks its tail in. I am 18, walking hand-in-hand with a slightly older boy, a fellow theater student, someone I hardly know but instinctively trust. We’ve just come from a party in a neighborhood that was new to me. Most of Manhattan is still a stark mystery, except a small portion of the Upper West Side where our theater school and dorm are located. This party was outside that radius, somewhere behind Lincoln Center, in a crowded, sagging apartment pulsing with strobe lights and thick bong smoke. People also did cocaine, the first I’d ever seen, crouching over lines on a low table, then jumping up to flail wildly to the music
Spectacularly written, Alicia. Whoosh. And I love the question of what lives beyond or underneath resilience. When I feel into that, it feels like some form of radical acceptance, a triumphant and total surrender, maybe. But I like leaving a question mark there, too, for whatever *is* in there to introduce itself with its own...what...gift of gnosis, maybe.
Thanks Tina, that means the world ☺️ I think about resilience all the time, it’s qualities and limitations, and the gorgeous but elusive Beyond. There are 2 more NYC mixtape pieces coming and they both speak to the subject as well. Peace be with you and much love ❤️
Spectacularly written, Alicia. Whoosh. And I love the question of what lives beyond or underneath resilience. When I feel into that, it feels like some form of radical acceptance, a triumphant and total surrender, maybe. But I like leaving a question mark there, too, for whatever *is* in there to introduce itself with its own...what...gift of gnosis, maybe.
Beautiful. Thank you.
Thanks Tina, that means the world ☺️ I think about resilience all the time, it’s qualities and limitations, and the gorgeous but elusive Beyond. There are 2 more NYC mixtape pieces coming and they both speak to the subject as well. Peace be with you and much love ❤️