835/900 - Diana
Pride Week is a really big deal in Toronto. It celebrates the diversity of the LBGT community but its popularity has spread far beyond the LGBT community as the city goes into party mode. (www.seetorontonow.com/annual-events/toronto-pride-week/)
I was sitting with a friend on the patio of the Ryerson University coffee shop having a chat and a cup of joe and people-watching as a street fair associated with the Pride Festival took place in front of us. I saw her at a table across the street with a coworker, giving out information about Inside Out, a nonprofit cultural organization “committed to challenging attitudes and changing lives through year-round initiatives in queer cinema.” (www.insideout.ca) I was drawn to her great smile and her beautiful collection of tattoos. When I finished my coffee, I introduced myself by asking if she felt as photogenic as she looked. She laughed and said “No, not at all.” I told her about 100 Strangers and my wish to include her as part of my project and she said “I love it. The project sounds fantastic – kind of like Humans of New York.” “Yes” I replied. “Kind of but a bit different.” I have her my card and we shook hands. Meet Diana.
Diana’s coworker agreed to look after the table for a couple of minutes while Diana and I crossed the street to the shade of the coffee shop patio where I had been sitting a few minutes before. We took the photos rather quickly with the reflective windows of the coffee shop in the background and I then returned Diana to the promotions table to chat.
Diana is 29 and is originally from Vancouver on Canada’s west coast. Her family is of Vietnamese origin but she was born and raised in Canada. I learned that she does some photography herself and would like to look into 100 Strangers and perhaps join the group. She really likes the way it encourages reaching out socially and connecting people along with its photographic goals.
Diana is the Marketing Manager of Inside Out and said she likes he job because it’s a small, somewhat informal organization and she is given a lot of independence to come up with her own ideas of how to best do the promotions –such as being present at the Ryerson University street festival today. When I asked her about the greatest challenge she has faced in life, Diana said it has been finding her place in the world. She went on to explain that while most young people who identify as queer go through a process of not fitting in with other kids, they eventually find a strong connection with the queer community. “It wasn’t like that for me” she went on. “I didn’t connect strongly with the queer community either so I’ve had to find my own way. Now I have a mixture of friends and activities that are not just straight or queer.” I had the impression that this has been a challenge for Diana but that she is making her way in the world without defining herself purely through terms of sexual preference.
I found Diana to be very outgoing, friendly, and an eager participant in 100 Strangers. She said she was happy to have been invited to the project and I told her it had been fun meeting her. It was time to leave her to her promotion work – a job that is a good match for her personality. I meant to ask her about the Kings Avenue cap she was wearing and returned after my class to ask but discovered that the street event was winding down and she and her coworker had returned to the office. With a bit of googling, I discovered that Kings Avenue is the name of a highly-rated tattoo shop with studios in Manhattan and Long Island. (www.kingsavenuetattoo.com/) If Kings Avenue is in fact the source of Diana’s body art, they certainly do good work.
Thank you Diana for the friendly response to my photo request and for taking a few minutes to get acquainted. Thanks for your participation in The Human Family where you are #835 in Round 9 of my project. Have a great time at Pride Week.
Update: I received a very nice email from Diana saying she is pleased with the writeup and explaining that two of her tattoos are, in fact, from Kings Avenue studio. It's always great to hear back from someone in my project. Thanks Diana. :-)
835/900 - Diana
Pride Week is a really big deal in Toronto. It celebrates the diversity of the LBGT community but its popularity has spread far beyond the LGBT community as the city goes into party mode. (www.seetorontonow.com/annual-events/toronto-pride-week/)
I was sitting with a friend on the patio of the Ryerson University coffee shop having a chat and a cup of joe and people-watching as a street fair associated with the Pride Festival took place in front of us. I saw her at a table across the street with a coworker, giving out information about Inside Out, a nonprofit cultural organization “committed to challenging attitudes and changing lives through year-round initiatives in queer cinema.” (www.insideout.ca) I was drawn to her great smile and her beautiful collection of tattoos. When I finished my coffee, I introduced myself by asking if she felt as photogenic as she looked. She laughed and said “No, not at all.” I told her about 100 Strangers and my wish to include her as part of my project and she said “I love it. The project sounds fantastic – kind of like Humans of New York.” “Yes” I replied. “Kind of but a bit different.” I have her my card and we shook hands. Meet Diana.
Diana’s coworker agreed to look after the table for a couple of minutes while Diana and I crossed the street to the shade of the coffee shop patio where I had been sitting a few minutes before. We took the photos rather quickly with the reflective windows of the coffee shop in the background and I then returned Diana to the promotions table to chat.
Diana is 29 and is originally from Vancouver on Canada’s west coast. Her family is of Vietnamese origin but she was born and raised in Canada. I learned that she does some photography herself and would like to look into 100 Strangers and perhaps join the group. She really likes the way it encourages reaching out socially and connecting people along with its photographic goals.
Diana is the Marketing Manager of Inside Out and said she likes he job because it’s a small, somewhat informal organization and she is given a lot of independence to come up with her own ideas of how to best do the promotions –such as being present at the Ryerson University street festival today. When I asked her about the greatest challenge she has faced in life, Diana said it has been finding her place in the world. She went on to explain that while most young people who identify as queer go through a process of not fitting in with other kids, they eventually find a strong connection with the queer community. “It wasn’t like that for me” she went on. “I didn’t connect strongly with the queer community either so I’ve had to find my own way. Now I have a mixture of friends and activities that are not just straight or queer.” I had the impression that this has been a challenge for Diana but that she is making her way in the world without defining herself purely through terms of sexual preference.
I found Diana to be very outgoing, friendly, and an eager participant in 100 Strangers. She said she was happy to have been invited to the project and I told her it had been fun meeting her. It was time to leave her to her promotion work – a job that is a good match for her personality. I meant to ask her about the Kings Avenue cap she was wearing and returned after my class to ask but discovered that the street event was winding down and she and her coworker had returned to the office. With a bit of googling, I discovered that Kings Avenue is the name of a highly-rated tattoo shop with studios in Manhattan and Long Island. (www.kingsavenuetattoo.com/) If Kings Avenue is in fact the source of Diana’s body art, they certainly do good work.
Thank you Diana for the friendly response to my photo request and for taking a few minutes to get acquainted. Thanks for your participation in The Human Family where you are #835 in Round 9 of my project. Have a great time at Pride Week.
Update: I received a very nice email from Diana saying she is pleased with the writeup and explaining that two of her tattoos are, in fact, from Kings Avenue studio. It's always great to hear back from someone in my project. Thanks Diana. :-)