By Zenzele Barnes
Teen Editor
the Durham VOICE
thedurhamvoice@gmail.com
The Thanksgiving holiday is coming up, and living in Durham has given me so many things to be thankful for.
During the run-up to this summer's photo exhibit at SeeSaw Studio, Zenzele Barnes goes over the choices. (Photo by Alex Nelson)
I am a youth designer at SeeSaw Studio. It is a non-profit after-school program for teens in downtown Durham. Going there has taught me so many fun skills, such as screen-printing, that I have used to create all kinds of new designs and apply them to things I can sell. SeeSaw has really taught me to expand my creativity and I all the designers there are great.
Durham is also a wonderful place for learning. With North Carolina Central University, Durham Tech, Duke, and UNC-Chapel Hill close by, there are a lot of opportunities to take classes and get a feel for living in a college town.
My dad and I often go to football games during the fall. And since I am interested in fashion, he always comes with me to the fashion shows at NCCU. He usually doesn’t mind spending time with me because it’s something I’m interested in. There are also classes and camps during the summer available to the public.
Durham is expanding more, and there are new things happening all the time. At Central Park, the new skate park has just opened, and the Durham Performing Arts Center has drawn more people downtown in the past year. Also there are many local artists downtown whose work can be seen during the Art Walk. Durham is a great place for aspiring artists.
I’m extremely thankful that my parents decided to raise me here. I used to think Durham was just another city past its prime, but I had to get involved to see all the potential it really has.