Hello, hey, what's your name?

My name's Ishmael Ishmael.

So Ishmael, this is a project on the Crawford Community and City Heights area, and it's about how you feel about it, so the first question is what was it like when you first moved or been to this neighborhood?

I live in Oak Park, and when I first moved there it was like, quiet and stuff. I moved from Atlanta, Georgia, and I was used to knowing my neighbors and stuff and everyone being close so when I first moved here, even my closest neighbors, there were acting like strangers and stuff, and I have lived here for 8 years now and even though it's been that long, I still feel like I don't know anyone in my neighborhood. But overall, it's like a safe vibe.

So, do you feel safe in your neighborhood?

Yeah, I feel really safe in my neighborhood, like, nothing bad has ever happened in our neighborhood, so yeah.

So growing up here in City Heights, what kind of people did you surround yourself with, and, you know?

I made sure to always stay near school, and my friends, I would selectively choose them. Like, the ones that would give me bad influence and stuff, I keep them at a distance, you know? I make sure I was either at school, the gym, or at a library, benefitting myself.

What kind of culture identities do you have in your neighborhood, since this neighborhood is really diverse?

I have a lot of different neighbors, there's like some Asian, the Asian group they're really nice, and some African-American neighbors are really nice too, it's just like, even though we're not close or anything, everyone respects one another, and that's what I really like about this area, like you don't have to worry about anyone being racist or anyone judging you, everyone's equal.

So if it was somebody that never had been to City Heights, how would you describe it to them?

City Heights is what you make it, like, you can get a lot of benefit from living here, but at the same time, you can get into a lot of trouble, too, so you have to pick and choose who you be friends with and where you hang out, and if you make the most of it, you'll get a lot of benefit.

Alright thank you Ishmael.

You're welcome.