WISHES FOR THE NEW STARR
FROM RAJA FEATHER KELLY
When I was accepted to College I was so excited to have a roommate. I loved the idea of the shared experience. Two strangers being put together randomly, or at someone’s weird design, and having to live alongside each other and experience College for the first time. I got a questionnaire about what kind of amenities I would bring; what my major would be; my dietary preferences; and a chance to write a note to my soon-to-be roommate. I was so nervous, I didn’t know what to write… Then it hit me! The thing I wanted to know more than anything else in the world.
Dear Larson, I am so excited to be your roommate. I love Double Stuffed Oreos and I don’t sleep very well. I am a bit of a night owl. My church gifted me a mini-refrigerator- so I will be bringing that and I have a VCR but no TV. I do love TV though. A lot. I love popular culture! Um, I don’t have much more to say other than that. I am just so eager to go to college. However, I do have one question. What are your Hopes and Dreams?
He never responded. And I was assigned to new roommates.
When I finally got to college, I met Larson and he said: “Hey, you're Raja right?” “Of course”, I responded “yes”. And he said, “I’m sad we never got to be roommates. I wanted to be in an alcohol-free dorm. So I changed. But also I was so weirded out that you asked me what my hopes and dreams were. No one has ever asked me that before.” I responded, “Me either”.
Larson and I went on to be great friends. And we asked each other often about our hopes and dreams. I wanted to pursue a major in poetry, Larson wanted to be a doctor, I wanted to be the president of my student body, Larson wanted to be in a band, I wanted to write the student newsletter, Larson wanted to talk about philosophy. We did all these things.
I would again be asked about my hopes and dreams when I met The Bushwick Starr exactly nine years after I graduated college. I hoped I would win a Princess Grace Award; I dreamed about making a solo (although I wasn’t a solo performer); I hoped I would have a process where I could take over a space and do whatever I wanted while I was creating my work; I dreamed to be internationally recognized; I wished my solo would enter scholarship about the black queer experience; I dreamed of being a Yellow Glamour Alien; I wished to be left alone to create and for honest candid feedback; I dreamed of touring the show; I wished for the experience to NOT be a one-night stand; I dreamed I would make friends and be seen as the artist I felt I was and not to be chastised, asked to over-defend my choices, or be micro-managed.
My dreams came true because I was asked what my hopes and dreams were. And it was believed and supported until it came true. All of it. I hope this for more and more artists, every day, all-time forever.
- Raja Feather Kelly, Creator of UGLY
