Despite Detroit being portrayed as a city with rampant crime and bankruptcy in the media, prior to arriving I knew there was something more to this city. While on the DXF Bus tour, I noticed that many local stores and restaurants are family owned and no big-name restaurants that are all over the country. Even this small detail reveals the passion and determination of Detroit residents to help their community. As we headed from midtown into downtown, one of the biggest things I noticed were the murals that I saw on every corner. It never struck my mind that Detroit was a place that valued art. My misconceptions of Detroit just being an industrial city with no unique aspects were shattered by the sheer amount of artwork while driving downtown. Even in Downtown with all the skyscrapers, I noticed that murals were painted on the walls of huge buildings. Not only this, there were multiple abstract sculptures scattered downtown. While doing the tour with Sofia, Ajay and Lee, we noticed that many of the sights downtown all have historical meanings behind them. Whether it be something related to African American culture or to the history of automobiles in Detroit, there was always a background to it. Despite all of these interesting and unique things about Detroit, it is still underrated by a majority of the country because of bias media portrayal. For these next 7 weeks in Detroit, I hope to make a difference in the future ability of TechTown to help local residents start and expand their businesses. While my project does not have an immediate effect on the people of Detroit right now, it does affect how TechTown makes their decisions with expanding in the near future. I plan to do all the work I receive to the best of my ability and work with Sofia to not only complete our project for the summer but do something beyond what is required to leave a lasting impact. One thing that I would like to do is meet some of the local residents in Detroit. Much of our project is done inside an office which does not allow us much exposure to what Detroit is actually like. We have been offered to go with some TechTown staff around the neighborhoods and I have decided to go with them whenever I can to get an authentic Detroit experience while I am here.
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