Picks

Although I understand that Staten Island seems dull, I still want to be able to make the most of the resources that I have. So, over the summer I made a Google Maps list of all the interesting places I wanted to visit in Staten Island. Keep in mind this list is made with the intention of finding potentially interesting things, so it may not appeal to everyone.

https://goo.gl/maps/GLHEQjWoxyqgmQ5bA

Experience

Prior to high school, I had always thought Staten Island was “too white,” and growing up as one of the two families of color resulted in me feeling quite ostracized. My family and I feel its lack of diversity because of the scarce resources; for example, we routinely travel to New Jersey to shop at H-Mart because the one Asian grocery store had closed down (although thankfully, a new one opened up because kimchi from Netcost isn’t going to cut it). While it is true Staten Island is not as diverse as the other neighborhoods, and not many ethnic enclaves exist, as I grew up, I became more aware of those who make up Staten Island, and I no longer believe in this notion.

My high school, Staten Island Tech, was primarily Chinese and Russian-Jewish, and the students were primarily from Staten Island or Brooklyn. I knew many of the Russian-Jewish students because they were in my neighborhood, but I had always assumed that the Asian students at my school weren’t living in my borough. However, I quickly realized that many of them not only lived in Staten Island, but in neighborhoods I was most familiar with. I believe that it is one thing to grow up a person of color in any other borough, and another to be doing so in Staten Island, so experiencing this was a pleasant surprise.