Nowadays, I un-ironically exclaim "305 till I die" a solid five times a day without really noticing. The big city I traded for a middle of nowhere college town, the one place I wanted to flee so badly, became one of my favorite places in the whole entire world. While I wasn't born in Miami, I was raised there for the past 18 years. It truly is the only place I have memory of, and I love it because it is a part of me.
People, specifically those in Florida, love to make fun of those who grew up in Miami because of how loud and extra we are about our city. The truth is that we love this place, whether we pretend to hate it or not. Miami is unlike any city in the world. It is loud and colorful, and as much as I hate the phrase "melting pot," I can't think of a better phrase to describe the coming together of cultures all over South Florida.
Drake was celebrated for his depiction of Miami in his music video for God's Plan, as was Barry Jenkins in his film Moonlight. Miami isn't just this glamorous, lively city full of Christmas lights on palm trees and celebrities. In fact, it has one of the biggest wealth disparities in the country. In between the suburbs and coastal skyscrapers, you'll find drug ridden neighborhoods, poor schools and squatters. While this is sad and is something that local governments are doing their best to fix, it tells the story of a city born from people who fled countries and situations where they were treated horribly and not given the choice the dream.
Miami is a city that manages to combine rap, electronic dance music, jazz, salsa and reggaeton for everyone to enjoy. It is the city that gives us insane fusion cuisine, like Brazilian Sushi and Chinese Ceviche. Miami houses its own fashion weeks just blocks away from Valsan.
It wasn't until I was old enough, and had permission, to drive myself around that I began to appreciate the city I had spent my whole life in. I got to see the typical tourist spots like Wynwood and South Beach and realized why they attracted so many people. Sure, they're beautiful. Every place you look in Miami is beautiful, even the landfills by my house have their beauty. But they're also full of so many people, from the girls that long to be instagram models, to real models, to tourists visiting the places they read about online, to annoyed locals who missed the time where this was their own secret place. Every single face you see, whether real or painted on a wall, tells a story.
I will admit that gentrification is a serious problem in Miami, and it hurts to me to see the low-income spots, mom and pop shops and restaurants and food stands where people worked hard to make their living, gone and traded in for another chain shop or restaurant. I realize that my city is growing faster than it was planned to and we must make the most of it before it is swallowed up by the rising ocean. (Kidding! Except not really. Climate Change is real).
What makes Miami so special is the fact that you can't pinpoint exactly what it is. At first, I swore it was this big city full of Latinos and Hispanics. As I grew older, I began to notice the Jewish influence, the Asian immigrants, the countless Eastern Europeans, the African American Influence and the Caribbean natives who longed for a better life. Some areas are specific to those groups of people, and yet they are only separated by a few feet. They go to school together, eat together and live together. Miami is a perfect example of how simple it is for people to coexist full of love and support.
I love this city with my whole heart, and while I sometimes find myself complaining about how I spend every break from school here while my entire Instagram feed travels the world, I am reminded of the fact that I can have Colombian food for breakfast, Japanese food for lunch and Brazilian food for desert, easily, all within a three mile radius of my own house. Although, I'll take a trip abroad if possible, please and thank you.
