Street Smarts

I Chose to Trust My Intuition, Would You?

The other day, I decided to visit the Bronx Zoo with a good friend of mine. It would become my first visit ever, and I was looking forward to spending this gorgeous early spring day outdoors.

I took the train from Brooklyn and prepared myself for the hour long ride with a great book. I ended up arriving at my stop a while before my friend got there. Luckily, there was a small plaza with benches and I decided to sit down on an empty bench to dedicate myself to the page turner I had brought with me, again.

Then, something awkward happened.

The benches – there were about six of them – were not all occupied. There must have been about three benches that no one was sitting on. But this teenage girl decided to sit right next to me.

Why had she chosen to sit next to me instead of one of the completely unoccupied benches?

Nevermind I thought, and read on in my book. Then, the second awkward thing happened. The young looking girl lit a cigarette, or something that looked like a small cigar. It seemed strange, because she looked like she was only 16 (maybe a little older). She finished her smoke, and then quickly jumped up, making the bench jerk since it was loose, giving me the sensation as if I was about to fall off for a second.

She rushed off, and I felt relived that she was gone, had her sitting right beside me given me a strange sense of 'something is off.'

I did not see where the girl was headed exactly, so the more it surprised me when she ended up exactly where she sat before – next to me for a second time. But this time, she scoots closer.

"Excuse me, I think I got off at the wrong stop, so I need to call my brother to make sure I'm at the right stop. Can I use your phone?"

I realized that she must have observed me being on my phone to post a picture on Instagram, before I had started reading my book. Her scooting closer to me, made my inner alarm ring. I looked at her and tried to believe her for a second, but I could not. I was checking her out, and she looked like a sweet, innocent girl who I guess likes to smoke small cigars. But something kept telling me she is not what she appears to be. I replied:

"No, you can't have my phone."

She thought for a second.

"Oh... well, I am not gonna take your phone, you can have my sweater and hold on to it, I am not going anywhere."

I almost considered holding on to her sweater, but again, that would have been a bad trade off, and I already started picturing her running off with my phone. I somehow knew I could not trust her.

"I will not give you my phone, ask someone else!"

She shook her head and turned away.

I thought about the situation some more. What if she was telling the truth? I felt bad for not helping her out. What if she really was lost? So I picked up my purse (which was situated between us too – and I kinda did not want her to be able to grab it), and pretended I was looking for something inside of it, when I had an idea. I decided to make the following offer.

"I can give you 50 cents, and you can go and call your brother."

By the way, she had not made any attempts to ask anyone else for their phone.

"No, but I don't have his number."

I got slightly angry at her for thinking I was buying her lies.

"So how were you gonna call your brother if you do not have his number?"

She had the audacity to say this:

"I need to go on Facebook and write on his wall."

This time I shook my head.

She remained on the bench, right next to me. A little too close, and I was hoping for my friend to arrive soon, to finally have a reason to get up.

Unleash'd Magazine

The Eclectic Issue

Isn't our newest issue HOT? I mean look at this cover! Then you open, and you see more great stuff... and you get to your first feature with Jules Arthur and Celia Helfrich (NYC based artists). You go further, and you find musician Gilbere Forté! And then you read about Jamaica. And on top of that, another feature of DJ O.N.E., and the journey is not over... More eye candy up until the last page!

We, the Unleash'd Magazine team, could not be more proud of what we have accomplished thus far (always wanted to use thus far, althoug I dislike people who use it frequently...). With every issue I feel like we are getting better and better and that's what it's all about! We are currently re-structuring and adding to the magazine. Unleash'd is getting bigger!

Oh... and growing also means more responsibility sometimes – if you do a good job. Apparently I did, and now I am the "Executive Editor!" Congratulations to me! In that sense, please write me if you are interested in becoming an addition to our team. We need NY based photographers and writers (working remotely is O.K.)! Only serious inquiries are considered, and do not forget to send samples of your work! Send to Janina AT Unleash-d DOT COM! We are a startup, so there is no pay, but there is a lot of learning and doing, and you will be credited in the magazine.

Preview and purchase out Feb/March 2012 issue HERE!

What is Love, Polygamy WTH?

The other night I went to bed, but I was not quiet tired enough to call it a night. So I started browsing “Netflix” for some options. I wanted to watch a TV show, because a feature length film would have been too long and it was already late. Long story short, I discovered a TV show called “Sister Wifes.” When I read the description I found out it was a TV show about a family that lives the polygamy lifestyle. I had never been interested in that topic, but I do have an inquisitive personality and always enjoy learning new things.

The family that was featured consisted of three wifes who shared one husband (but not their sex lives) and had 13 children. What I realized after watching was, that opposite of what I might have assumed before, they do not seem weird at all (aside from sharing their husband), but like a big, happy family. Their children were taken good care of, they seemed intelligent and well spoken, and although their family structure seems off or strange at first, I believe that if someone is happy outside of conventional patterns that are determined by society, and is able to create a loving and nurturing family environment, I am OK with it. A friend of mine had posted something on Facebook the other day, her status said: “The abuse rate of lesbian households is zero – I find that incredibly beautiful.”

In the New York Times, readers replied to an article called “One Big Happy Polygamous Family.” Here is what a reader named Carol Kraines said:

“Polygamy amounts to female child abuse. Girls are “given” to men at a young age, generally with minimal education. The husbands don’t believe in family planning, of course, so the girls become pregnant early and often. The husband makes the decisions about the number of wives in the household, and about every other aspect of their lives.”

I am not pro-polygamy, but what I saw on that TV show was the opposite. I must say I was surprised. I am not sure if all polygamist households are that loving, maybe they are not. One thing this family was emphasizing, was their goal to raise happy children. They also stated they would support them when they grow up, even if they did not want to follow their parents foot steps into living the same kind of lifestyle.

There is no question that any kind of abuse in any kind of family should be prosecuted, but why determining how people should live, if there is nothing wrong with it except for not being considered the norm?

Unleash'd Magazine

Last Issue for 2011 – The Holiday Issue!

This issue is the first cover to feature a male model! I love it, not for obvious reasons, but for the fact that it makes Unleash'd Magazine unique, I love being a part of it.

Find the following two articles by me in this issue: "Beats and Produce: Ingredients for Success" with Printz Board of the Black Eyed Peas and "Don't Be Bitter, Be Better" with DJ SynCity.

Preview here:

DJ SynCity

Printz Board

Unleash'd Magazine

Issue #2 is here: Unleash'd Magazine

Our October issue The Super Hero Issue Oct. 2011 is here! I contributed the following three articles this time:

1. Stacy Clark (Singer/Songwriter)

2. Matt Cook (Model/Actor)

3. Chanta Patton (Model/Actor – Feature Editorial)

Make sure you pick it up here! Right now you do get a 25% discount (until Oct. 31st ONLY)!

Unleash'd Magazine

First Issue Out Now

I have been interning at Unleash'd Magazine since July 2011. And ratatatam, the first issue is out now! Unleash'd is a lifestyle magazine with focus in music and fashion. The August 2011 issue features interviews with musician J-Lie and skateboarder Stevie Williams, both written by me. Find out why J-Lie didn't want to become a soccer pro, although ranking number 14 in the nation, or why Stevie Williams finds it so important to teach young kids.

This is the first time I am published in English for a magazine that is available in print, so it is very exciting for me.

Please support, it's only $2.70 for the digital issue and $11.80 for both digital and print. Buy here: Unleash'd Magazine August 2011 Issue.

Thoughts

to age with grace or not to age with grace

to be friends or not to be friends

to be in the big city or not...