Humans Of Brockport
By: Erin Patanella
Jack Grabski
MARCH 2024: BROCKPORT, NY
“They thought I was just going to be like Lily.”
“She’s six years older than me and she kind of became like, my mother in a way. She’s always there for me. My sister is like my best friend.”
“We both lost both of our parents. We shared a father but we both ended up having to go live with our stepfathers. So, we kind of got separated when we were children. And we were both kind of put into like, bad situations from that point on because they weren’t the best ‘parents.’”
“She ended up going to college but did eventually stop going. It caused a lot of tension in our family, like our grandparents and stuff. And I think that you know, without a parent figure that my sister and I weren’t being taken seriously by our grandparents. They really didn’t think that we could be shown what was right. But she really did not back down telling them that this what she wanted. She was not happy where she was. She went out and she got herself a really good job and she just kind of showed them that she could lead her own life. My sister is the person who has inspired me to keep moving forward in my life, because she has kind of just always set an example.”
“I directly moved out of my house when I graduated high school, like, I live in my own apartment when I go home. I work two jobs at home as well as here, so I feel like I’ve become very independent when I have to be. What we were doing was just kind of proving them wrong. Even just being at the school and still going. I struggled a lot the first year. And you know I always followed my sister’s footsteps, but I wasn’t this time. I was like, I’m not going to drop out. I’m gonna push through and, in this case, prove my grandparents wrong because they thought I was just going to be like Lily.”
Grace Hinterberger
MARCH 2024: BROCKPORT, NY
“I am going to meet people who treat me well, and love me, and want the best for me.”
“I think I was very closed off. Not only my sexuality, everything. Throughout my life, like specifically my friendships in the past, I never chose myself and thought of myself highly. They would hang out without me, lie about what they were doing. I had a best friend my whole childhood. And then she stopped hanging out with me, kind of separated herself very like bluntly. I kept almost chasing after her and not just sticking to myself or knowing that I’d be okay without her.”
“I had a lot of issues, like self esteem and body issues. I was questioning my sexuality, or I mean, it wasn’t at the forefront of my mind, but it was something that was there for sure. It started off as wanting to change myself and not viewing myself in a more positive light. And I think I said this to my mom once: my friendships in high school were to get through it. They weren’t really that fulfilling. It was more ‘I need people.’”
“But then COVID honestly, like quarantine, I was forced to be alone and only prioritize myself. Only seeing myself and only being around my family and not comparing myself to everyone else, not even physically but mentally, really helped me to just be by myself and okay with how I am. Like having my own schedule, going on walks, spending time with my family. Being forced to be alone and to love myself.”
“Even the summer before coming here, I felt free almost from high school. My friend Cassie, she’s gay, and she would always be very accepting. I opened up to her about like, ‘I don’t think I’m straight.’ You know? I met people who were okay with themselves, and then having my first gay connection, I became so confident in myself. I mean, honestly, a big reason why I am so different here than I was in high school is because I wasn’t out in high school at all. I wasn’t out about my sexuality, but I don’t think I was ‘out’ with many other aspects of myself. I think I was very closed off, not only sexuality, everything. Coming here I wanted it to be different. That was my mindset: I am going to meet people who treat me well, and love me, and want the best for me.”
Erica Kurek
MARCH 2024: BROCKPORT, NY
“I would never allow that to be said to a child.”
“I grew up thinking I was a bad kid. I was always involved in after school activities and like sports and all that sort of jazz. But then because middle school is the age where everybody wants to start doing stuff, I started vaping. Somebody took a picture of me outside of school and sent it to the principal or something, and then I was labeled. It was a one-time thing that just happened to be caught. I had teachers literally tell me that I was a disappointment to my school district. After that I stopped doing all sports. I stopped getting involved in school. I felt like I didn’t want to after that.”
“All these like negative things that happened to me made me want to be a teacher. You shouldn’t punish children, you should just kind of see where they’re coming from. You’re not there to tell people that because they did this one small thing, that chances are a lot of other people are doing, that that makes them a bad person. I mean when you’re in middle school, you’re like what 12 or 13? And you’re being told you’re a disappointment to your whole entire district. It’s kind of crazy honestly, when you look back at it, because you’re so young. I would never allow that to be said to a child.”
My senior year of high school probably like May or early June, towards the end of the year, we did a walkthrough of our elementary schools. Just seeing the teachers that had such a positive impact on my life and the way I think, kind of just made me realize I want to do that for somebody else. I want to have a positive impact on a child’s life. Just something so small like that, made me totally realize I’ve probably wasted my four years. Especially once you get to college, like you also realize that you should have enjoyed the easy part of life rather than hated it.
