Public Art

Creating my own public art in Detroit can range from several ideas. I thought of one that may be a really god one to have in Downtown, Detroit. It will be indoor art gallery and it’s going to be separated in sections. Each section is going to have objects to represent popular things in Michigan. For example, there could be a spot for Mackinac Island and it could have a mini lake made out of mold. There could be a spot for Joe Louis Arena and it will have a miniature arena platform with concession stands. Each section will also have a written description on the area and the fun things to do there. I think this would be good for Detroit because so many people don’t take advantage of all the great and fun activities we have to do here. Mainly, because some people don’t really know about them. Having this gallery will lead to people of Detroit asking themselves why haven’t I explored all these wonderful places, which will lead to people exploring our city more and maybe bringing a boost to our economy.

Most interesting blog!

I found Kaleigh Passarelli’s blog “Dancing thru Detroit” to be most interesting. I loved how she used images in almost every blog because it gave me a picture in my head of the topics she discussed. I also loved her post about her five stops because they are spots I would defiantly go too also. It related to me and I thought it was pretty cool and fun to read. I also love the fact that she is a dancer because I have danced before and it made me think back of my experiences in dance and brought so many amazing memories back from reading her post of “Defining a Community”. I really enjoy reading all her blog posts and would recommended everyone to go check it out!

Here is the Url to Kaleigh Passarelli’s blog! http://dancingthrudetroitkp.blogspot.com   

Defining Communitys

I belong to the Arab American Community. I have been apart of this all my life. As a member of this community, my involvement has increased dramatically. As a child I would go to the mosque not very often. I knew about the Arab American community but not too much about it. As I got older I learned more about it and the aspects of it. I began to go to the mosque more on my own and participate in prayers with my community. I feel much more apart of my community now than I did when I was younger. You can tell most of the time when someone isn’t a member of this community. You can tell because our community has certain types of clothing and styles of clothing we wear that stand out than others. For example the hijab is one of them, which is very easy to distinguish. To be a member you have to know a lot about the community and participate in social events around the area. There are lots of values, and beliefs shared by the community, which some people take very seriously. For example there is Ramadan, which is a religious holiday, which is 30 days of fasting. Almost everyone in our community participates and people take this very seriously. Membership in the Arab American Community is important to my personal identity because I am a Muslim and I liked to be looked upon as a good Muslim and being apart of this community and all the activities that come along with it really shows that I am an active Muslim and care a lot about the religion and the community along with it.

The second community I am apart of is the Americore community, which I have been apart of since I was around seven years old. My involvement has gone up in this community as I have grown. Americore is a volunteer program. I have attended food drives, MLK service day, 911-service day, and many other projects every year since I have started Americore. As I got older I began to attend more food drives, and service projects around my area especially during high school. In high school I earned over 1,000 community service hours from Americore. In this community you can not tell if someone isn’t a member. We are very welcoming to any types of people. Everyone comes from different city’s that makes it such an amazing community to be apart of because it’s a unique crowd coming together and making a difference for nothing in return but smiles on people’s faces. To be a member you simply can just come and attend any service projects, you don’t even have to be consistent with all of them. The main idea is just to come and help out when you’re available. There aren’t really certain values, or beliefs held in this community. There are activities, which come with values and beliefs because when participating in an activity you are expected to devote your full attention to the project and give it your best effort. Membership in this community is important to my personal identity to me because it shows that I am a caring person and I can do things for others not for my own satisfaction but for the satisfaction of others who are in need.

I think the most important way of defining a community is looking at all the little things in the community as a whole. The little things are what make the community come together as a whole and really define the community as one and distinguish it from others.

Designing my own neighborhood

If I were given the task to design a neighborhood I would incorporate everything to make it as beautiful and well suited for different types of family’s. I would start off making it a gated community because its safer and makes it more upper class. There will be medium sized homes along with smaller ones that would be more affordable. I will have a pool and lounge area for the people living in this neighborhood. It will consist of only homes and the pool area. No offices, because I want it to have a home like atmosphere all around it. There will be a workout room inside the lounge area too, along with pool, and air hockey tables. Every Friday will be game night for the entire neighborhood to participate and get together. Attracting residents will be easy. You buy a home in this neighborhood, which will be very affordable and along comes free pool service, a workout room, and entertainment, who wouldn’t want that deal? Since we don’t have natural palm trees in Michigan, I would plant fake ones all around the community to give it that liveliness in the atmosphere. There will also be a decent sized park for the children next to the pool area. Around the park there will be a racetrack. I would want the houses to all look the same, but have slight differences. When I picture this community I want it to be as safe as possible with a friendly neighborhood all around.

Being a Tour Guide

If I were a tour guide I would go to five places that are my favorite attractions. I grew up in Dearborn and I’ve been to many amazing places. I would take the guests to places more personalized towards what mean the most to me because it will be easier and more exciting for me to talk about the attractions. 

The first place I would include in my tour is the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn because I am Lebanese and there are so many wonderful pieces in there I have enjoyed seeing. Also my name is on the wall in the museum for donating money to help the museum open and get started, and that is something I would be proud to show on a tour. Next I would go to Dearborn;s Ford Community & Performing Arts Center because growing up it was one of the main spots everyone in the neighborhood would go hang out at. I would show it because there is so much to offer there and it has many different shows, award ceremony’s, and other types of events going on there. It’s a fun place to be, which would make it so exciting to show it off! Then I would head off to Detroit’s Fox theatre. This attraction would be on my tour because it is just beautiful inside. There is always some sort of event going on in Detroit, and Fox theatre is one of the greatest in my opinion to attend an event at. I would than go to the Renaissance center in Detroit which is on the riverfront. Renaissance would be on my tour because of the magnificent restaurants inside there like Coach Insignia, and Joe Muers. The fine dining there would just be the start of showing off this wonderful area. You can enjoy an elegant dinner in the Renaissance and have a view of the riverfront, which is something I would love to show and talk about. The last place I would go to on my tour is Somerset mall, in Troy. This is my favorite mall, which is only one of the reasons it would be on my list. The mall has the most glamorous stores, and when you’re a tourist that’s one of the things you always want to do, shop! There are even some of the best restaurants there. 

When visiting Detroit, there are endless possibilities on where to go and what to do. It is such an amazing city and you can always find entertainment almost everywhere you go!