Global Citizenship, Social Movements, Urban Navigation & Gentrification

Germany: Spring 2022

Guten Tag!

My first intro to Europe was a blessing in disguise that I never saw coming. Studying abroad as a graduate student gave me a seasoned perspective to tackle a new continent with curiosity and appreciation. Germany’s history is rich, unforgettable, controversial yet fascinating. Cheers to experiencing the world one country at a time!

Cologne Crocodiles

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What a blessing to see my brother play the sport he loves, live in the city of Cologne, Germany. A vibrant city that serves as a multicultural melting pot, offering a wealth of attractions. My favorite football player, whom I had the honor of watching on the sideline for 19 years, took his defensive back skills overseas and created an unforgettable legacy both on and off the field. A professional athlete’s career is not built for the weak and takes a special type of grit to maintain. Shout out to the German Football League for recognizing talent firsthand and providing him this opportunity to ball out internationally. The timing aligned unexpectedly yet perfectly for our paths to cross in Europe. I wouldn’t have preferred it to be any other way. It's not every day that you get the chance to fly out to Germany and catch a football game where your sibling is undoubtedly the G.O.A.T. Everything from the music, lively fans, mascot, and local kids coming out on the field with the players exemplified the true meaning of community and intergenerational influence. 10 hours away from home, I am undoubtedly grateful to have experienced a new way of connecting with a sport that was a huge part of my upbringing, thanks to unconditional support and meaningful family quality time.

Alles ist gut; Alles ist klaut (Everything is good and well)

Interested in playing overseas? Check out my brother’s experience via Instagram @fardanallen

First-generation athletes deserve to experience the world one opportunity at a time. Stay humble…stay focused…you never know where life will reward and place you next.

Berlin Wall

Never judge a country by its past… unless they are accountable.

Seeing the Berlin Wall firsthand brought up mixed emotions understanding the pain and trauma this historical landmark caused generations of families. As a fellow empath, I could just feel and absorb those feelings standing on the very cobblestone that separated mothers from their children and husbands from their wives. Despite this symbol of division, the resiliency of Germans influenced the body of work you see above. Beautifying this space into graffiti street art gave locals a creative form of expressions that uplifted voices who never made it to the table. The right and honor to recreate in an environment that once brought generations so much pain gave Germany a chance to curate a renewed path and legacy of redemption. Social movements challenged ways of thinking and designed a platform for global citizenship and progressive change. Peaceful protests are protected and respected in Germany. Sulking in culture shock, this moment showed me that social activism is a human right and privilege amongst this European nation. It inspired me yet saddened me at the same time to wonder if peaceful social activism could ever be translated over to the U.S. Wishful thinking much? There’s so much more internal and external work we need to do as a country to achieve this sustainably. Accountability goes a long way when applied with integrity and transparency!

Graffiti Art Tour pics

Here is a beautiful collage of some of my favorite artwork galavanting through the German streets with my Rutgers-Camden crew. Pictures are worth a million words and captions won’t do it justice, so it’ll let the art speak for itself!