The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan in Color
Monday, September 9, 2019— 3A

When I walked out of the 
Jackson 
Heights 
subway 

station in Queens, I could have 
been walking out of a metro 
station in Delhi or Mumbai 
or Chennai. Everyone around 
me was Brown, storefronts 
all around selling samosas, 

chaat and chai. It felt like 
home. It made me realize 
how empowering it is to be 
surrounded by people who 
look like you, something so 
many white people take for 

granted. Two of these photos 
show 
the 
predominantly 
South Asian area in Jackson 
Heights, Queens, New York; 
two of these photos are from 
the streets of Kochi, a city 

in my dad’s home state of 
Kerala in South India. To 
me, it is comforting how 
immigrant communities are 
able to recreate their homes 
wherever they settle. In the 

moment, sipping my chai and 
listening to all of the different 
languages 
being 
spoken 
around me, I was grateful to 
be there.

Street Life

There’s a space between space 
and time that you’ve managed to 
reside in. A grey area that should 

have slipped through the cracks. 
But, you’ve managed to maneuver 
adhesive 
after 
adhesive 
into 
what was once shattered. This 
space between space and time 
used to seem endless. Like the 
union of black hole to infinity. 

Like the consolidation of now 
and then. Like the reality of an 
unwanted death during life. The 
space between space and time 
was massive yet miniscule. And 
you managed to fit right in. I 
don’t believe in fairytales. I don’t 

believe in the idea of one soul 
being my required mate. But, I’ve 
seen the grey turn to light. I’ve 
seen you slip through the cracks 
to make the space between space 
and time seamlessly disappear. 
I’ve seen my soul turn soft, 

and felt my knees grow weak. 
I’ve seen my smile frame many 
millimeters, and I’ve felt my eyes 
rain. In your presence, the space 
between space and time is lost. 
In your presence, there has never 
been enough space and there will 

never be enough time. In this life, 
your soul has proved to latch onto 
mine. And in this space and time, 
I don’t mind mating with a soul so 
fine. I’d let you fill my space until 
the end of time, for I’ll always be 
yours and you’ll forever be mine. 

Space and Time

DIERRA BARLOW
MiC Podcast Editor

First day of school for
people of color

I love to either completely 
match, or use colors of same 
palette. While I decided to 
choose an array of blues for 
my nails, I sadly forgot about 
my 
closet—I 
barely 
own 
anything blue. However, I 
found this spearmint striped 

shirt-dress 
hiding 
in 
my 
closet. Even better, I’ve never 
worn this dress, so what 
better way to start off my 
junior year than in a new fit!

Malikah Pasha
MiC Contributor

Fashion is a way that any 
individual can express their 
culture on an everyday basis 
 
 
— and even more importantly, 
on the first day of school! This 
year MiC wanted to showcase 
the first day of school outfits 
of 
students 
of 
color 
who 
use their fashion to express 

their creativity and present 
themselves to the rest of the 
world. The students we are 
presenting have cultivated their 
style to truly express themselves 
as individuals. Please enjoy their 
fashion choices and the effort 
they put into expressing their 
identity in the form of fashion.

Fashion gives me the ability to 
put together a piece of artwork 
everyday when I wake up. I want 
to let people know through my 

fashion that you are not subjected 
to. a specific style and that 
you have the freedom to wear 
anything that sets your soul fire. 

Chanel Barnes
MiC Contributor

I chose this outfit for my 
first day of classes because 
the top is a vintage 1940s shirt 
in my favorite color. I want 
to get into more sustainable 
ways to shop for clothes this 
year 
and 
stop 
supporting 
fast fashion, especially when 
there are secondhand clothes 

that are this cute and unique! 
My Hello Kitty backpack is 
peeking out from the bottom 
left corner—it’s a purchase 
that I made because I’d like 
to think that Hello Kitty is 
not only a baddie, but also an 
iconic woman of color.

SEAN TRAN
MiC Off the Record blogger

DANYEL THARAKAN
MiC Editor

