NICOLE
Q: Where/when do you feel most comfortable?
A: In the bed I share with my boyfriend. In my raggedy PJs with my book on my knees. Walking down an empty street with my headphones in and a cigarette in my hand.
Q: What scares you and/or holds you back?
A: I have had many phases in my life and many different hold ups. I think at this moment, the things that scare me the most or hold me back the most are the thoughts that my successes in life may not be earned. I fear that my value will be evaluated based on criteria beyond my control. My whole life, all I've wanted people to know about me or value about me is the content of my brain, as I've spent a lot of time, effort and money cultivating it. I value my body of knowledge above all else and am constantly striving to add to it. Intelligence. Intellectual power. Not looks. Not who I know. Not how much money I may or may not have at that moment. Not selling myself.
Q: Define courage.
A: Courage is standing toe to toe with fear. The litany against fear as outlined in Dune by Frank Herbert is as follows: "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
LAURA
Q: Where/when do you feel most like yourself?
A: Usually in a room with only a few people - people that share my interest. I get really overwhelmed in large groups, so if I'm with 3-4 people in my apartment or at a coffee shop or in a book store I feel okay just being.
Q: Where/when do you feel safest?
A: My room in the mornings. I feel the most aware and like myself at that time. My whole life is crammed into a small Harlem bedroom. It's high up in the building so I can see everything before it happens on the street.
Q: What holds you back?
A: Self worth and body image.
Q: Define courage.
A: Fighting/moving forward/performing even when there is no possible way a person could.
DAYLE
Q: Where/when do you feel most like yourself?
A: I had a total gut response to this - in the bathtub! I love taking baths and often take them to relax.
Q: Where/when do you feel safest?
A: When I'm with people I love and trust, it's never a location. I don't generally feel safe alone, I don't even fully relax at home if I'm alone.
Q: What scares you or holds you back?
A: As an artist, I've always been scared to push the line in a way that might potentially embarrass me and my family. So I think I hold myself back because I don't want to face other people's judgement.
Q: Define courage.
A: Doing what you believe to be the right course of action, no matter the consequences.
KRISTINA
Q: Where/when do you feel safest?
A: With my dad. When I'm under the warm covers and wake up on a cold morning. With my mom and aunts at Christmas in my aunt's living room. Watching "Friends."
Q: What scares you and/or holds you back?
A: Sometimes self-consciousness holds me back, worries that I am not enough, that I am not what it takes, that I am NOT. At certain moments I am afraid that humans will give up and give in to shittiness, rather than the idea that everything is possible, that equality is possible, that world peace is possible, which is what I believe.
Q: Define courage.
A: Never backing down from being yourself.
KATIE
Q: Where/when do you feel most like yourself?
A: If I am being honest with myself, I think that I enjoy inhabiting different roles or versions of myself depending on where I am and what I am doing. For example work Katie, family Katie, and party Katie are all different but they all feel authentically "me" nonetheless, if that makes sense. I do feel the most at peace and most reflective when I am in nature, which I think is important.
Q: Where/when do you feel safest?
A: This is a bit crazy, but I still have my baby blanket. It's crazy because in no way does it resemble a blanket anymore. At all. My mom says it looks like shredded cabbage. To others, it's probably a bit gross looking, and I understand why. However, I still find it the most comforting thing in the world. I mean I have dragged this thing around with me for as long as I can remember, and (this is a bit embarrassing to admit) it has only been a couple years since I have stopped sleeping with it. I am going to try and defend the blanket; it is a representation of something constant, of memory, and of home. All of those things make me feel safe.
Q: Define courage.
A: Doing something in despite of its challenges. Whether that means you might fail or going up against accepted conventions.
ELISE
Q: Where/when do you feel most comfortable in your own skin?
A: I feel most like myself when I am with my family, especially with my mom and dad. I am lucky that I am the youngest of three, because I got a few years to spend with just my mom and dad, after my brother and sister went to college and I was still in high school. I was past the “I’m uncomfortable around my parents in public” phase (which ended in middle school), so I really enjoyed spending time with them. We spent endless hours at the dinner table talking about everything that matters, and went on long walks exploring neighboring New England towns on the weekends. To this day, I share practically everything with them. They know me - who I was, who I am, who I can be.
Q: What scares you and/or holds you back?
A: I’m held back by my fear of rejection, and my fear of failure. My fear that I’m not worth anything, that I’m not good enough.
Q: Define courage.
A: Courage is when you’re afraid of something, but you don’t let your fear stand in your way. Courage is about conquering your fears. It’s about realizing something that is more important than what you’re afraid of. Like standing up for what you think is right even if you know you’ll be persecuted for it.
SARAH
Q: Where/when do you feel safest?
A: I struggle with the word "safe" - I am uncomfortable when I begin to feel too comfortable. As an alternative, I feel most at peace at the end of a long day, when I feel like I have accomplished a lot, and I am both physically and mentally tired... enough that I can turn off for a while. And those moments feel best, more full of peace when I can share them with someone I love.
Q: What scares you and/or holds you back?
A: Hurting other people. That I'll make a mistake.
Q: Define courage.
A: Making decisions out of love, not fear.
CALAINE
Q: Where/when do you feel most like yourself?
A: When I am goofing around with my boyfriend at home. I am a kid, I am a sexy woman, and I am a whiny teenager all in one. I know it drives him crazy in every type of way.
Q: Where/when do you feel safest?
A: When I am with my sister. Talking to my best friend (nothing bad happens talking to her and even her voicemail makes the worst day funny). When I am in boyfriend's arms.
Q: What scares you and/or holds you back?
A: Myself.
Q: Define courage.
A: Taking action when you are scared.
JOY
Q: Tell me about yourself.
A: I work in Human Resources and love what I do but long for something more entrepreneurial and independent. I [recently] married and am thrilled to embark into the next chapter of my personal life. I am thinking a lot lately about motherhood and I am equally excited and terrified for that phase of life. I love love love New York City and hope to raise my family here.
Q: Where/when do you feel most like yourself?
A: I am a huge discount/thrift shopper and nothing makes me feel more amped up than a successful shopping trip. I also love hosting - planning, cooking, entertaining - and I always feel like me when I'm in my home. I tend to feel a rush whenever I'm in a taxi or walking home after a night out experiencing the amazing culture of this city. Those are the moments when I feel "pinch myself" lucky.
Q: Where/when do you feel safest?
A: Going to bed each night with my [husband].
Q: What scares you and/or holds you back?
A: I come from a family of risk takers. I am cautious. I want stability, security, but I also have an underground longing for a life filled with adventure and purpose. I struggle with this.