Brooklyn is under the weather

I have been in Brooklyn for less than a week now and it is painstakingly obvious that I should have come home a week earlier if I wanted to get out. The weather forecast is forcing me to stay inside...well, not exactly but it seems that that would be the smartest move. I know, who wants to be out in the cold anyway? But come on...Im a college student who only gets a few weeks at home. Why does it have to be like this? If I want a little fun in NY, I cant have it because the skies have opened up and cried on a rainy day. You cant even step outside without sliding down the steps and praying you dont hit the pavement. Either way, this has been a great first week in New York. Snowstorm...great timing. At least we just may have a white Christmas...global warming on pause.

East Coast vs West Coast

I know this has been a long time thing but we have seen it with rappers, with clothes, other kinds of music, actors...and everyone knows there is a thing between the East and West Coasts. I am from the east coast but a friend from the west coast told me that we are behind and start things late. We're not original. I am not gonna bad talk the West Coast...but the east gets it in, if you know what I'm saying. Which coast are you one?

Brooklyn born and raised

Every time someone asks where I am from, I say "New York", they say "What part?" I say "Brooklyn", they say "Ohhh." I am from Brooklyn, New York and some people say they can tell before I even speak. They see it in the way I dress, in my attitude, in the way I move. I can't help it. Brooklyn is where I was born and raised.

There are times, however, when people do try to compete and tell me that wherever they are from is better than New York, and often better than Brooklyn. I have heard people say that NY is too impersonal, that people are rude, cab drivers are the worst. My response to them is that NY is the best preparation for the world abroad. It is a place that teaches you how not to get your feelings hurt, how to move on from something quickly and efficiently, and how to get where you need to be without others being in your way. Yes, NY is fast paced, but I just think other places need to catch up.

When people think of NY, they think of the rats. There are rats, and they may be the size of raccoons, but come on. You have to expect a little bit of culture everywhere. LOL. So what I want to know is, what makes Brooklyn "Brooklyn" for you if are from Brooklyn and what makes wherever you are from better if you are not?

So I went back to Brooklyn this weekend...

I went to Brooklyn this weekend and so many things have changed. The mall known as Kings Plaza now has two floors in Forever 21, there have been so many changes and additions...but the faces are still the same. I saw people from high school and thought...I see you guys all the time, but that's Brooklyn. It's so big and yet you seem to see the same people everywhere. I find it funny when I see someone who has spoken to me before but may not have remembered, tries to speak to me again. Yea, that happened. I said, I remember you from so many years ago, I remember that tattoo on your arm, and this character said..."No, that couldn't have been me."

Either way, the streets of Brooklyn are still crowded per usual, there a new place, a new party, a new store to shop in every other day. It sucks how fast business get sold out because there was a Circuit City not too far from my house and by the time I came back again, there was a sign in the window that read "AJ Wright Coming Soon" in place of the Circuit City that lasted a few days to my recollection....maybe but not really. The point is, things in Brooklyn change so fast but the people are always the same. I went to Miami, granted it was Carnival weekend, but what are the odds that I am staying next door to someone I met a few months before at a concert in Six Flags, bet you could guess this person was from Brooklyn. Is it that Brooklyn people tend to do the same thing most of the time, or is it that we are all alike and just so Brooklyn? Who knows...all I know is that is home.

What do you remember?

What is your favorite part about Brooklyn from the past? What do you remember the most and what do you wish was still around?

I loved when I could wear clear bookbags, I thought jumpers were so cool, It's funny because people still think Coogi is cool or is it? hmm... I remember when people were so scared to wear colors then didn't leave the house, I remember when Coney Island was the spot, I remember when...I sometimes wish the words "tha bomb" were still in.

I can remember when I used to do things...

Sometimes I think about how much better and easier things were back in the day. I grew up in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY and I think this is a neighborhood different from many others. I mean, you get a lot of history with Brooklyn, but when you narrow it down to East Flatbush, come on. Anyway, I can remember the times when I would be in the house doing absolutely nothing, I probably wasn't in the double digits yet. There were grown men in the yard playing dominoes and the kids were in the street playing tag, barefoot of course because you ran faster without your shoes. When I did come outside, I played double dutch with the girls, in the street and barefoot, because the sidewalk was too small and hard and you jumped better without heavy sneakers. The streets were filled with the teenage girls sitting on steps gossiping about somebody who liked somebody else, and the teenage boys had no time for them, in public. They were too busy tryna stake their claim to fame, tryna prove who they were. They were walking the new dogs their parents got them, mostly pit bulls and rottweilers, and acting like they ran the world.

One time I tried to play cool. I remember back when TLC was 'all that' and I knew all the words to Waterfalls. Ya'll remember the song..."Don't go chasin waterfalls, please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to." I came downstairs ready to go outside, singing my jam, but obviously the world wasn't ready for me yet. I wore my hair in two ponytails, held tight by bubbles, some jumper with a patterned shirt, and socks and sandals. When I stepped foot out the door, my cousin told me to go back in the house and take those socks off. I was thinking "Whats the problem? Mr. Duke does it." But Mr. Duke was an older man who was cool by nature and fly by life. Unfortunately, I couldn't do it. So I went inside and changed my shoes and learned my first lesson in style. Don't follow old men.