From Bushwick stoops to Queens sidewalks, a reflection on the places that will always feel like home.
By: Astrid Sarmiento a.k.a Lil Poetrid
When people think of New York City, they often picture the bright lights of the city, towering skyscrapers, and bustling streets.
But when I think of New York, I think of Brooklyn and Queens.
I think of the neighborhoods that gave me a voice and helped raise me. I think of the accents that sound like home, the corner bodegas where everyone seemed to know one another, the family-owned restaurants serving recipes passed down through generations, the crowded subway rides, and the countless cultures that somehow coexist within a few square miles.
In Bushwick, Brooklyn, where I was born and partially raised until I was twelve, I experienced a neighborhood rich in culture, community, and character.
I learned that community isn't just a word, it's a way of life. It was a place where neighbors looked out for one another and where every block seemed to tell a different story.
Long before I became a writer, Bushwick was teaching me how to observe. It taught me to pay attention to the little things: conversations on the stoop, murals that colored the streets, music pouring from passing cars, and the resilience of the people who called the neighborhood home.
The neighborhood became my first classroom in humanity. It taught me that every person carries a story, every family has traditions, and every block has a rhythm of its own.
When my family later moved to Queens, my world expanded even further.
Queens taught me that diversity isn't something to be celebrated occasionally; it's something to be lived every day. Hearing multiple languages in a single afternoon felt normal. Different cultures, traditions, foods, and perspectives existed side by side, creating a richness that shaped the way I see the world.
As the daughter of a Colombian father and a Honduran mother, I was already growing up between two cultures. Brooklyn and Queens expanded that experience even further. They taught me to remain curious, appreciate differences, and embrace perspectives beyond my own.
Growing up between Brooklyn and Queens taught me adaptability. It showed me that identity isn't always one thing. Sometimes it's a blend of places, experiences, cultures, and memories woven together.
Growing up in New York meant growing up in a world without borders.
Brooklyn gave me roots.
Queens gave me perspective.
Together, they helped shape the person I am today.
New York also taught me resilience. There is an unspoken toughness that comes from growing up here, it's not the kind that makes you cold, but the kind that teaches you how to adapt.
You learn how to navigate change. How to figure things out. How to keep moving forward when life doesn't go according to plan.
But beyond resilience, New York nurtured my creativity.
As a writer, Brooklyn and Queens have always felt like endless sources of inspiration. Every train ride holds a story. Every neighborhood carries history. Every person you pass is living a life as complex and meaningful as your own.
I've always been someone who notices the little things: an elderly couple holding hands, a conversation overheard on the subway, music drifting from an apartment window, or the smell of food carts mixing with rain on hot pavement.
Those moments became stories.
Those stories became poems.
Those poems became part of who I am.
Most importantly, growing up in Brooklyn and Queens taught me that human beings are not meant to fit neatly into boxes.
The city never slows down, and somehow it teaches you not to either. You learn to become a multifaceted individual because you are constantly exposed to a rich diversity of culture.
Perhaps that's why I've never been comfortable defining myself by just one thing.
I've been a writer, editor, web producer, and legal professional. I've explored different paths, taken unexpected turns, and discovered new versions of myself along the way.
New York taught me that reinvention isn't something to fear.
It's something to embrace.
When I look back, I realize Brooklyn and Queens gave me far more than a place to grow up.
They gave me grit when life became difficult.
They gave me curiosity when I didn't have answers.
They gave me stories when I needed inspiration.
And they gave me a deep appreciation for people from all walks of life.
No matter where life takes me, there will always be a part of me that belongs to both boroughs.
Because long before I knew who I would become, Brooklyn and Queens were already teaching me how to become her.🗽❤️
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