Darrel – The Restaurant Manager

Darrel – The Restaraunt Manager

Background

Darell has experienced different phases of life multiple times, as he’s been married three times and has two children 17 years and 364 days apart. This is his story:

Dailey Life

Darrel is now semi-retired from his life as a restaurant and night club manager. He remembers the grind with mix feelings. His first wife passed away and after spending days managing a restaurant and nights managing the night club, he can’t say he remembers much time with family during those times of making ends meet. That’s just what his life experience was even from childhood.

As a child, Darrel was the last of a family of nine, coming the same time as his fraternal twin. His older sister took care of them most of the time as his parents were always working. His father had three jobs just to make things work, even with all seven children sharing a single room. It builds character according to him, it’s important in life to learn a high work ethic. He grew up in San Diego and has since moved out to Texas now with his third wife and started over with another child 18 years after his first .

His Perspective

Darrel is easy going and has a calm demeanor. His perspective focuses on taking life as it comes and handling the challenges through hard work and determination.

There isn’t much room for rest and relaxation in his life, but that’s not really what gives him meaning. Instead he finds meaning in putting in the work and feeling satisfied with providing for the needs of his family.

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Mary – The Retiree

Mary – The Retiree

Background

Mary is newly retired and loves to travel. She lives in Dallas with her husband who is still looking to join her in retirement and her two sons who now live on their own close by. This is her story:

Dailey Life

Retirement is all about maintaining activity and using your time that you have before you. Since there is so much freedom, often you can waste away that gift of time, thinking there’s always tomorrow. Mary is always first and foremost a mom. So she spends tons of time with her kids and cannot wait for the time when grandchildren come along.

She often takes time to travel and has a recent trip to Zion’s National Park as a retreat with friends. They are looking to hike and see the fantastic views that millions around the world come to see every year. Her goal is to keep going with her desires to see the world and experience things like never before. Her entire family, herself, her husband and now both her kids are all in careers in finance. She finally understood that they had enough and she was ready to leave the daily grind for a way to use the wealth she’d worked so hard to achieve.

Her Perspective

She is driven by her mom instincts, and can’t help focusing on children and loving kids. She feels that is where the joy of life comes from. She wants to live her life like a child, always wanted to be excited about life and the simplicities of what life can bring.

Mary is working to use all her energy in using kindness to help improve the world and focusing on children. She is nervous by the amount of standardize violence in the culture around her today, which she feels greatly influences the shootings that have become more and more common place in the United States. Her hope is that she can combat that violence with kindness to any stranger she comes in contact with.

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Ashley – The Teacher of the Disabled

Ashley – The Teacher of the Disabled

Background

Ashley spends her days with a group of adults that are unable to care for themselves. She puts her heart and soul into their needs and takes pride in what she does. This is her story:

Dailey Life

Working with disabled adults can often be a challenge. It’s not exactly like working with children, but it has its parallels. There is constant vigilance to ensure no one is getting themselves into trouble, but there’s also that consistent rewarding feeling that only the working with the truly innocent can really give you.

Ashley works full time at the Arlington Adult Education program for individuals with severe disabilities. She has a range of students including those that are entirely nonverbal and require a sign language translator. Ashley prioritize teaching her students life skills, and takes weekly field trips to unique places such as the Federal Bureau of Engraving and Printing to learn about money, the local bowling alley to teach them about how to lose with dignity, and the cosmetology school to learn about hygiene. Each experience is unique and creative as she comes up with different ways to help them be more independent in a difficult world.

Her Perspective

She feels life is meant to be used up in service. It’s not the highest paying job and there’s a lot of challenges that come with it. It’s by no means easy, but she feels the reward is worth the challenge.

Living a life of service is what brings her the greatest joy, and making that connection that she would never have been able to do in any other way with these unique individuals gives a satisfaction many in life crave, but few ever really find.

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Drew – The Money Printer

Drew – The Money Printer

Background

Drew’s story is simple and yet profound. He works in one of only two places where the US prints bills. He knows his stuff when it comes to money. This is his story:

Dailey Life

An avid rare money collector himself, Drew has now worked at the Federal Bureau of Engraving and Printing for over 13 years. He gets to see all kinds of people come in and ask him questions about his favorite subject, printing money.

The facility doesn’t allow cell phones on the premises, so he typically has a very unique and captive audience in this day and age. He mans the old spider press, giving a demonstration of how the original presses made money.

His Perspective

He loves knowledge and facts. He loves the ability to share obscure facts with a new audience every day in his position. The excitement from others when they learn something for the first time drives his passion.

That’s all he needs out of life. Not that his life isn’t without its problems, but when you do what you love and interests you in a unique way, his daily interactions can help a satisfaction that money cannot buy.

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The Michelada Festival

The Michelada Festival

Background

Michelada is a Mexican beer cocktail known for it’s spicy and tangy flavors. Every year in Fort Worth Texas, hundreds gather to celebrate the drink and the culture behind it.

The Festival

This is a lively hispanic festival, with music, vendors and lots of micheladas. This celebration shuts down main street in downtown Fort Worth for several days.

This festival is deeply rooted in supporting the local community. Every food and retail vendor is a locally-owned business, giving them a vital platform to showcase their offerings. The real impact, however, lies in its mission: proceeds from the event raise funds for scholarships, including those for Fort Worth ISD graduates attending Texas Wesleyan University and for the Mexican American College Education Fund (MACE). This direct support helps turn local students’ educational dreams into reality. 

The Culture

Beyond its philanthropic core, the festival bursts with cultural energy. Attendees enjoy authentic Mexican and Latin American cuisine, live music from bands like Havana NRG! and Mariachi De Los Texas Rangers, and family activities, including a free silent disco. The highlight for many is the highly anticipated “Best Michelada” competition, where local mixologists compete for top honors.

The vendors setup are about a 50/50 split between drink vendors and universities. It helps young Latin Americans come and enjoy a culture night, while also prioritizing their future in education. The event truly embodies its organizer’s mission: to encourage connection and respect among people of all ages and backgrounds through peaceful social exchange. The Fort Worth Michelada Festival is a testament to the power of a community coming together to celebrate its roots and build a stronger, more connected future.

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Daniel – The Chinese Uber Driver

Daniel – The Chinese Uber Driver

Background

Daniel is a quiet and reserved person. He likes to listen and try to understand before he needs to be understood. This is his story:

Dailey Life

Making a living as an uber driver can be quite difficult. Daniel has lived all over the United States, mainly living in New York, California and now Texas. His goal is to make it back to California once he can save up the money to live there, as he feels the climate is best there.

He thinks weather has so much to do with people and their moods and demeanor. Californians, he thought, were the nicest people, and it’s just because they’ve got warm weather that isn’t oppressive heat. He looks forward to the time when he can afford to be around happier people, as he sees how greatly the attitudes of others affect him, especially in the service industry.

His Perspective

For the most part he lives his life around doing what he has to do, for those few moments when he gets to do what he wants to do. He’s found satisfaction in this process and hasn’t forgotten his Chinese roots of group mentality instead of individualism, which is so common in the new culture he now lives in.

Daniel is engaged and plans to get married in the next two to three years and live with his wife in California. He has no plans to return to live in China, although he does see his own Chinese culture competitiveness come as he talks about the construction around the United States and how much slower it is here than in China.

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Ken – The Street Artist

Ken – The Street Artist

Background

Ken is an outgoing person, on the lookout for interesting people to draw right on the street in his effort to make a living. This is his story:

Dailey Life

Ken is from Los Angeles, California. Yet he has spent the last decade and more of his life on the Strip in Las Vegas. He is an eager street artist who is constantly on the lookout for interesting people he can look at and draw on the spot, with just a few markers.

Although a lot of people may not envy his life, with needing to interact with strangers just to get by financially. But Ken wouldn’t have it any other way. He definitely has more he wants from life and things he’s working towards, problems he faces, but he loves what he does in showing off his talent and connecting in new ways with strangers.

His Perspective

Life is meant for doing what you love is exactly how Ken lives. It’s not the most glamorous life and it comes with its own set of problems, but that doesn’t mean life can’t be enjoyed.

Ken is uniquely able to find the right way to give joy and feel joy in a place that can often be brutal, carnal or desperate. In this way, Ken finds joy despite the challenges not because there is a lack of trials.

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Mike – The Commuter in the Wheelchair

Mike – The Commuter in the Wheelchair

Background

Mike is a bit of a recluse. He rarely takes the effort to go outside, but has a unique perspective on one of the most densely populated places in the world. This is his story:

Dailey Life

Although Mike has lived in New York City for over 18 years, he rarely leaves his apartment. Many people think the city is well suited for someone confined to a wheelchair. Mike has found getting out and around in a crowded city, full of stairs, a difficult undertaking.

Despite not getting out much, he doesn’t hesitate to ask for help when needed. Living alone with a disability, he’s discovered the importance of asking for assistance.

His Perspective

Loneliness is quite ironic when you live in one of the biggest cities, constantly surrounded by people. Yet it is more common than expected. Mike’s experience highlights the interconnection between people, always willing to lend a quick helping hand, yet never connecting beyond a quick commute.

Mike’s connection to people, being willing to ask for help when needed, helps him find fulfillment in life. Yet staying inside his one bedroom apartment for the most part, leaves him satisfied with going it alone in most situations.

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Leotrim – The Albanian Immigrant

Leotrim – The Albanian Immigrant

Background

Leotrim is an immigrant from Albania to New York state. His priority revolves around his kids and their safety. This is his story:

Dailey Life

After living most of his life in Albania, he has come to value the peace and quiet places. He started his life in America in the heart of New York City and in Queens, but since having kids three years ago priorities changed. He decided to move his family to a quieter and safer place to raise his family.

Leotrim has two children, a boy and a girl. He celebrated his son’s third birthday by taking him out of state to a nice hotel to do his favorite activity: swimming. He talks about his desire to give his children the best life they can have. He values security and safety, because it was something that he lacked in his own childhood.

His Perspective

Albania is a big part of his history, but also a significant part of his continued culture. Most of his family still lives in Albania, yet with increasing costs, he rarely gets to see them. Instead he feels that life is better in his small neighborhood in upstate New York, and encourages family to come to him.

We often focus on giving the next generation something we never have. Leotrim gives his children the security and love that he missed during his youth. Therefore his perspective is all about providing a safe and secure environment for his closest family members.

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Bailey – The One Room Family Woman

Bailey – The One Room Family Woman

Background

Bailey is a new mother with a 5 month old living in Manhattan. Her busy life has a lot of perks and challenges. This is her story:

Dailey Life

As a new mom in a big city, Bailey has learned to adapt to her new family life. Manhattan is maybe the busiest part of New York City and offers very little open space away from crowds. It offers even less when it comes to living space.

Adding a child to a one room apartment really has come with some unanticipated challenges. “We had him sleep in the kitchen for the first 3 months of his life,” Bailey said speaking of sleep patterns with her son. Their apartment is across the street from major businesses which never turn off their displays and make it impossible to have a fully dark room.

Her Perspective

She has noticed how her life has significantly changed bringing a child into the world. Priorities have changed, working in marketing her work life balance has shifted. Even the way she sees and is treated by other people has changed. She noticed there is very little middle ground in New York when it comes to kids. People are either so kind and so understanding, looking to offer a helping hand. “Or they are so annoyed that I brought a baby with me, even on the subway.”

Bailey hopes one day for more space, and more time to focus on her growing family. She treasures the interactions she now has with the kind people who offer her a hand when she needs a stroller lifted up stairs or a extra wipe when she’s just run out. She believes in the kindness of others, and even in a city well known for its rudeness, she find plenty of faith and hope in the future.

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