Reflecting on the Community Narrative Series

It’s been a year and a half since I proposed this series. Drawing from Humans of New York, I wanted the Community Narrative Project to serve as a similar digital space to affirm shared experiences, provide intergenerational advice, and encourage vulnerability with community members. In my own experiences at Brown, my connections with other community members are without a doubt the reason I have come this far. 

I remember feeling particularly lonely my freshman year as I struggled to find community in Providence. I had high expectations for my time at Brown, and was discouraged and embarrassed when I felt unhappy with my college experience. I found solace in stories from graduating U-FLi seniors, who listed off the buildings they had cried in on campus or talked about the times they considered transferring. They mentioned how time and time again, their support networks came through to pick them up when they were down.

When proposing this digital project, I hoped to recreate the sense of community I felt during those U-FLi events. I wanted to acknowledge the weight of those moments when our individual realities feel especially salient and isolating, while also highlighting and affirming everything we bring to the table — our strengths, our pastimes, our passions.

I like to end interviews for this project by asking folks who they are away from Brown, as the pressures of academia can quickly feel overwhelming. It feels grounding to remind ourselves that our worth is not tied to our productivity, to our academic performance, to our student identities. We are friends, family members, poets, dancers, artists, Hot Cheetos consumers (and/or distributors).

I’m grateful to have shared moments of vulnerability and reflection with the folks I was lucky enough to interview, to witness how this community always shows up to affirm and celebrate each other. I’m excited to share we will be posting a few more highlights to finish out the semester. These times are difficult in more ways than one, but I hope we can continue to find joy in our stories, in our friends, and in our community.

If you’d like to view past highlights, please visit http://blogs.brown.edu/uflidigitalarchive/.

-Jasmine Ruiz ’20.5 (she/hers)

This week, our Community Narrative highlights Jose Martinez (he/him/his), a first-year from San Antonio, Texas. Jose is double-concentrating in Visual Arts and Modern Culture and Media Studies. He is also a photographer and filmmaker. Read the interview below:

How are you? How’s your semester going so far?
It’s good. Coming back was a huge change in weather. It’s been much colder than I expected, but shopping period treated me well. I got into the classes I wanted to get into, but I ended up with a schedule completely different than the one I started off with.

How did you get into photo/video work?
It’s funny – the camera that I have today isn’t my camera. It’s my sister’s camera. She got a camera for her quinceañera. That was her big present, but she didn’t really use it. I was like 15 or 16 when I saw it in the closet collecting dust, so I was like hey I might as well just take pictures. 

I started off doing sports photography for my middle school and high school. People would be like, oh I like you’re pictures, and I thought I could take this a little more seriously. That’s when I transitioned to doing more portraits and concert photography. I honestly didn’t start taking it super seriously until my junior year, so I was already like 3 or so years into shooting. 

What does it mean to you to be U-FLi?
I guess a big part of it is understanding that you’re special. Most people don’t have the same experiences you have, and even within the U-FLi community, not everyone’s experiences are the same. It’s being cognizant that you’re going to have to work harder than other people because the system is built that way. But you also know to not forget where you come from. A big part of it is looking back to your roots and the reason that you work so hard. 

You can find Jose’s portfolio here.