Curating Teen Voices: Coming of Age
A portfolio project led by Mariana Parisca, Story Stitchers Artist in Residence
March 2-25, 2017
Spoken Word March 25 4 PM
7513 Forsyth Blvd., Clayton MO 63105
Curating Teen Voices: Coming of Age is a time capsule of teenage voices combined with adult artists living in St. Louis in 2015, all reacting to a critical and unique time in the history of race relations, gun violence, police roles and community relationships in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. Financial assistance for this project has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
My Passions
By Khadijah
Grade 5
c Saint Louis Story Stitchers, 2015
Imagine flying high above Missouri; you can see the whole state. Then you quickly drift down to see the city, then roads, then cars, then people. Suddenly, you drift toward a girl who feels dorky, but is surrounded by friends. That’s me, Khadijah. I sing. I am a good singer and I sing loudly. It’s my connection with St. Louis. When I sing, I put my whole heart into it, and, sometimes, I discover something I didn’t know about myself. Like how I can make up an entire song by just thinking about my day. I will think about the problems I had to deal with that day and spill it into a song. Sometimes I sing too high and my voice breaks. Other times, I pour tunes out with a pretty vibrato that soothes my heart. My favorite style of music is traditional music from India. When I’m stressed, I play the distant songs in my head and immediately relax.
I also have a deep connection with the outdoors. I love the way the wind blows my hair and makes me feel at home.
My favorite thing in the world is mixing those two things together. I go outside and pour my heart out as I sing and sometimes end up lying on my driveway, looking at the clouds, just singing.
And so my connection with St. Louis is through singing and nature. They are how my spirit of St. Louis shines through.
