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.

Follow My Blog

Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.

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.

Follow My Blog

Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.

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.

Follow My Blog

Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.

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.

Follow My Blog

Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.

Trisha – The Working Mother

Trisha – The Working Mother

Background

Trisha is a young mother from Bangladesh who moved to Queens, New York recently. Her immediate kindess to others around her made her stand out as one with an exceptional, yet common, life experience. This is her story:

Immigrating

Moving from Bangladesh to a new culture like the United States can often result in major culture shock. Yet for Trisha, being in crowded places has been a way of life well before coming to New York. She found a nearly entirely Bengali community that she associates with, so the major change came with learning the language. She picked up English fairly quickly with studying it a bit before coming and now living 5 years.

She has a young 15 month old baby, but with the change in her community, she decided it was best to stay with her baby and not put him in day care or have someone else be the primary caregiver. Instead, working shifts at the airport parking lot, she’s able to work a reverse schedule from her husband. They have just enough time to see each other and have a quickly daily update before their shift changes and they go from working to stay at home parent. Both have to pull full time shifts in both responsibilities to make ends meet financially and for their family. Yet they feel this is the best option to give their son the care and attention he needs from his parents, even if it means they are not often all three together.

Her Perspective

Trisha, although most think she has americanized her name, is her birth name and quite common in Bangladesh. She rides a crowded bus every day for work and takes her son in his stroller everywhere they go, so crowds and standing makes up a lot of her day. Yet despite the lack of being able to sit, she’s the first to offer someone in need a seat on the bus, the first to look after a weary parent, as she herself knows that feeling all too well, and the first to help a lost tourist, a feeling, as an immigrant, she was well acquainted with as well.

Despite living close to wealth of Wall Street and the center of world trade, Trisha’s life is all about making ends meet and providing a future for her child where people can see people as people and humanity reigns as the prime commerce.

Follow My Blog

Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.

Eric – The Stunt Double

Eric – The Stunt Double

Background

Eric is an open and talkative individual. He’s always open and willing to share about his life as a stunt double. This is his story:

Work Life

Eric has been Steve Carell’s main stunt double for over 18 years, since his film Dan in Real Life. He commented that the recent film about stunt doubles, The Fall Guy, really rang true to him. He had a lot of his friends and colleagues work on that show as well.

He travels a lot for work and was out in Puerto Rico filming the new Netflix series, Four Seasons. He loves his work and talked about how easy going, especially Steve Carell, has been. Although this was first time he was going to be his double in a scene with his shirt off, so he spent a lot of time with Steve in the gym to make sure they looked similar enough to be passable.

His Perspective

His perspective is just to grab life by the horns and take advantage of the opportunities you get. He loves life and loves being outgoing and social and being with people. He does miss his wife, who works as an OBGYN and rarely makes it out on to his sets.

Yet for the most part, living in LA and seeing so much of the world on movie sets, he feels he lives a full life, that is enviable to many. But his humility in his work is easily seen as he will start a conversation with just about anyone.

Follow My Blog

Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.

Steve – The Retiree

Steve – The Retiree

Background

Steve lived a full life in his hometown in Minnesota. Yet after years of work has decided to retire in Puerto Rico. This is his story:

Daily Life

Steve has truly taken advantage of the ideal retired life. After a full career in cold Minnesota, Steve took his wife and one daughter to live in sunny Puerto Rico. He lives in a set of villas next to a local resort in Fajardo, and although there are hundred of other villas in his community, they are the only full time residents. All other homes are occupied only during vacation times for the owners.

Yet Steve doesn’t mind the solitude. He gets plenty out of meeting new tourists coming to see his beautiful views. Although he is officially retired from his company, as the former company owner, he still often is called on for consultation and board meetings. He still keeps his main focus on his family, including his wife and daughter with special needs. He loves talking to tourists and giving them insider information on the best hikes, beaches and places to see in Puerto Rico.

His Perspective

Steve has always felt that it’s best to get the most out of life and the big change in scenery hasn’t come without sacrifice. His life is definitely drastically different than daily life in Minnesota, but he feels what changed has mostly been for the positive.

With the time on his hands with retirement to get the most out of island living, Steve feels that living a life of focus, service and achieving goals, should lead to the time of enjoyment.

Follow My Blog

Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.

Lewis – The Bird Feeder

Lewis – The Bird Feeder

Background

Lewis has been an employee at El Conquistador resort in Fajardo, Puerto Rico for over 30 years. One of his main tasks is feeding the aging parrots at the resort. This is his story:

Daily Life

Lewis loves talking about his birds. He feels that, although he doesn’t personally own the parrots, he has a personal responsibility for their well being. He has been feeding and cleaning their cages for years and knows each of their unique personalities.

Snowflake is the oldest bird in his care, and is now over 100 years old. The bird has been in the same resort for over 30 years and often gets repeat guests that come back to say hi, thinking the bird was long gone from their childhood. Birds live exceptionally long lives, but Snowflake is special and outlived other parrots who have even been born in the resort and passed away.

Casey the bird – who knows over 300 words

His Perspective

Lewis is happy to live in a beautiful area and experience the simple things in life. He hasn’t seen much change in his life, despite major hurricanes changing the landscape and the tourism industry, he feels blessed to have been able to have such consistent work, doing something he now loves.

He is always open to talk to the resort’s clientele, especially the children, who love to see and learn about his birds, as well as hear them talk!

Follow My Blog

Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.

Eliana – The Island Nurse

Eliana – The Island Nurse

Background

Eliana is from a tiny inhabitant island about one to two hours by boat from Puerto Rico. She is the only medical technician in the only hospital on the island. This is her story:

Daily Life

Living on the island of Culebras, Eliana knows what it’s like to both be isolated as well as play a vital role in her small community. The entire island is one of the smallest permanently inhabited islands in the world, with an area of just over 10 square miles. Because of the isolation, with only two ferries coming to the island once per day each, she has learn to survive in her small world and provide for those around her.

She is the only medical technician in the only hospital on the island, which is where any of the just over 1000 citizens of the island go when injured. The hospital only carries the most important materials as supplies, space and options are limited when accidents occur. Eliana is used to being on call at all hours of the day, any day of the year. With no backup to her work, she needs to be available for any and all emergency situations.

Her Perspective

Eliana is grateful for her role in her society. She knows she’s vital for life on her island, but is also humble about her role. She often makes the 1 – 2 hour one way journey to the nearest city on Puerto Rico, Fajardo. She is involved in both communities actively, despite the difficulty of traveling back and forth from home to the main island.

Her and husband and family are members of a church that meets weekly in Fajardo. They are always on the lookout for ways to help in their sphere of influence.

Follow My Blog

Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.

Camila – La Niñera

Camila – La Niñera

Background

Camila is a seven year old girl from Fajardo, Puerto Rico. She loves people and especially other children. He life revolves around helping children, especially babies. This is her story:

Daily Life

As an honorary employee of the Panaderia that her Grandma owns and other family members, such as her aunt, work, Camila is always looking to take on more responsibility than typical for a 7-year old. She is quick to observe and looks to help in quiet methods as she displays her independence.

When she talked about her family and siblings, as well as her cousins, she said she has hundreds. That may be an exaggeration, but she talked all about all the different children she helps as a babysitter. She was drawn to the kids and infants in the restaurant, helping out customers whenever possible.

Her Perspective

Camila loves to learn and feels life is bright and exciting. She loves family and human connection. She is excited to learn and learns Portuguese and Chinese in her school, along with some English words from some of her favorite TV shows. Although she knows and learns many languages, she’s very reserved in speaking too much and relies mostly on hand signals to get her point across, even as she gives recommendations for hikes in the nearby national park – El Yunque.

Camila is not one to hold back and is always on the lookout for helping in ways she knows a loves, which almost always entails helping infants calm down, take a pacifier, or even clean up a bit of spit up. She doesn’t shy away from giving a helping hand, even when the baby and family is a stranger to her.

Follow My Blog

Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.