The World According to Malik Cayenne
Hello, my name is Malik Cayenne, and I am glad to be a freshman here at Baruch College. As I approach adulthood, I have been thinking about who I really am and what my personality is becoming. The following images represent elements of my personality that I have developed over time.
The first image is a picture of the Empire State Building that I took. This building is often interpreted as a symbol of New York City. My character is similar to that of New York City because I have diverse tastes. I like eating different kinds of ethnic food, such as Arabic, Chinese, Latin American, and West Indian food. In addition, I can speak intelligently about various topics, such as sports, art, politics, fashion, and pop culture. As a result, I have had friends of vastly different personalities.
The next image is a self-portrait that I made while I was in my high school art class. The portrait not only represents my physical features, but also some elements of my personality. The bright orange that I am wearing represents the fact that I like to wear things with vibrant color. The blue background represents how calm, cool, and easygoing that I am.
The TV shows that I have watched have also shaped who I am, to a certain extent. This is especially true in the case of the Nickelodeon series Spongebob Squarepants. Spongebob’s happy personality is very similar to mine. Also, Spongebob has an element of awkwardness that may make him very weird to some, such as Squidward. I feel that I have an awkwardness that is somewhat attractive. My style of conversation is very differrent from that of most others. I come up with many weird phrases that make people scratch their heads. From that awkwardness stems my sense of humor, the same way that Spongebob’s weird behavior causes many hilarious things to happen.
Another element of my personality is that of a resilient champion. Nothing could display this more clearly than the New York Giants. In 2008, they won Super Bowl XLII after starting the year 0-2, and after nobody believed in them during the playoffs, as many thought that Tom Brady and the Patriots would go 19-0 that year. Four years later, they would come back from a 7-7 record to win Super Bowl XLVI. In my life, I have been resilient by being able to graduate from Stuyvesant High School after starting our my school career in the special education program. In addition, I have learned to accept failure and improve from it. For instance, in junior year of high school, I had a grade of 60 in pre-calculus after the second marking period. However, I worked hard and rallied to improve my average to an 80 in pre-calculus by the end of the third marking period. Overall, I have a “never say die” attitude.
My personality has an element of uniqueness in it. The L train represents uniqueness in a way, because it doesn’t share its tracks with any other subway lines. Secondly, it doesn’t go through downtown Brooklyn to go to Manhattan, like most of the other trains do. In addition, it goes through some unique neighborhoods such as Canarsie, the neighborhood I live in. Canarsie is different because it has a mix of inner-city grit and suburban charm like few other neighborhoods. The L also goes through Williamsburg, which is a neighborhood full of unique personalities, clothing styles, foods, and facial hair.
The next image represents my culture and the fact that I simply like to eat. This is a dish of oxtail, rice & peas, plantains, and stir-fry vegetables. It represents my West Indian culture that I am proud of. I am half- Jamaican and half- Grenadian.
In my life, I have also realized that I like stability. Brooklyn brownstones are some of the most stable houses in all of New York City. They will withstand any obstacle that is thrown at them, such as a hurricane or a fire. They also look attractive, too. I desire to have a stability that will be able to handle any problem that is thrown my way.
Last but not least, this picture of London represents my traveling interests. I want to travel to London at least once, along with going to Africa and perhaps a city in East Asia. My traveling interests are another display of how broad my interests are in general.