By Gisel Bello
Gold Writing Workshop | Fall 2020
I am from
Where bachata meets hip hop
Where “oye ven acá” meets “ayoooo”
Where the loopy loops of curls meets the clackity clack of beaded braids
Where dominos and double dutch reign
I am from
Where the projects make you feel small
and the hallways seem to wind on forever
Where everyone knows everyone’s chisme
and everyone binds together
I am from
Where arroz con pollo could fill your belly
but don’t get it twisted,
that Chopped cheese, beef patty, oxtail plate
Or mangu could too
Where I am from
No one looks the same
Everyone speaks a different language
But we’re bound by our dreams
Put to the test
In our beloved concrete jungle
Gisel Bello is a New York City native, Afro-Dominicana, and a proud first-generation graduate. She is currently a fourth-year medical student at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine and serves as the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Fellow there. Growing up, as the child of Dominican immigrants in the housing projects of Harlem, had its perks and challenges, to say the least, but writing was her way to catalog and process it all. For her, writing is synonymous with healing. In her writing, she delves deeper into the achy moments of her life, mining for nuggets of peace with what has transpired. Common themes in her writing are family, intergenerational trauma, women empowerment, love, healing, and sunshine. When she is not writing, she is collecting and empowering others to tell their own stories. This collection of audio stories is launching on March 6th, 2021, and can be found at youaremed.com
