In The Heights

For those who know my hometown Vancouver, WA, know about its lack of diversity.

An anecdote I like to share about the diversity of my high school takes place at the Dr. MLK Jr. Assembly freshman year. During the assembly, the guest lecturer asked for all African American students to stand up. The number of students that stood up could be counted on my two hands, and half of us were bi-racial. Not exactly diverse.

It's not as if I haven't experienced any other cultures or other ethnic traditions; that's not it at all. I just haven't lived in a neighborhood where the majority was an ethnicity besides white. That's why living in Washington Heights has been an exciting and somewhat startling experience.

I was definitely jarred by hearing sirens late at night. The bodegas, graffiti, and families sitting out on their steps threw me off a little bit at first too. It was weird to see people actually doing stuff out on the sidewalks. Old men playing checkers on the corner, young men trying to impress the ladies that walk by, and kids chasing each other. Everything seemed so...public and open.

It was also weird to see people that actually looked like me, not Hilary Duff or the Olsen twins.  I saw girls with the same skin color as me. I saw girls with the same shape as me. I saw girls with curly hair (like my hair when I wear it natural) and it looked good. I remember calling my mom my first weekend and saying, "Okay, so I may fall asleep to sirens, but I know they'll have good products for my hair."

I'll admit, I was a little scared the first couple of weeks. It wasn't until I listened to the soundtrack of the Broadway musical In The Heights, that I started feeling comfortable. Yes, I am aware of how atrociously cheesy that sounds, but since when am I afraid to get cheesy?

In The Heights is a musical about several families connected by a bodega in Washington Heights. It follows the families as they love, fight, celebrate, and grieve together.  The musical highlights how important community is in Washington Heights, and that's when I realized why my neighbors did everything outside. They were a community, and they were all out enjoying the company of their community in their outdoor living room. When I started imagining the characters of In The Heights interacting with my neighbors, everything just made sense. I would even listen to the soundtrack as I walked home!

Although I haven't made an effort to join the community, I do feel a sense of camaraderie. People have spoken in Spanish to me, thinking I am Dominican, and honestly, I think that's really cool! Of course, I could have only responded with my few key phrases that I learned in Dobie's cafeteria at UT, which probably wouldn't have made any sense in the conversation context. I've even publicly wore my hair au naturale a la afro a couple times this summer, which I don't think I've done since I was six.

My natural hair!

Although it was a bit of a hassle to ride the train all the way up to Washington Heights after hanging out with friends in the Lower East Side, living here this summer has been eye-opening and fascinating. Just like the characters in In The Heights, I'm glad I could call Washington Heights home for this summer.