Miles+McCray

// My name is Miles McCray, so I’m told. Without my consent, I was born in Buffalo, New York, August 16, 1989; I am a 19 year old Buffalonian Leo. Thanks to my father I am the oldest of 5 children whom are divided into 3 countries, United States, Canada, and Belgium. I have a unique family. Unique is probably the best word to also describe myself. I am pretty introverted for the most part and spontaneous when I want to be. For example I have 2 tattoos. One day I felt a need for change and they were the result. I absolutely love change, whether it is physical or the environmental setting, I live for it. I am currently a student of Media Commnications at Medaille College. I have a passion for creativity in writing, filmmaking, and painting. Wowing myself and others of my capabilities is kind of what I do .//

This is my favorite tattoo I have out of the 2!

//The Connector//: (bridge essay) // Bridge// is such a mind-easing word. When I hear it, I can’t help but associate the endless possibilities in my life. There’s a special feeling that overcomes me just knowing I’m not limited to my birthplace; Buffalo, New York. I love Buffalo because I love myself; I am its product. However, I believe there will come a time where I will have learned all that was destined for me in this location. When this time comes, I will rely on all surrounding bridges to consider crossing. The word //Bridge// is not to be taken literal all of the time as a physical manmade structure. It can symbolize an action or concept of getting to another place believed to enhance ones self. For example, a bridge can be a designated airplane or bus route connecting two places, or a commonality connecting two people. The story, Roadblocks and Bridges by Roberta Levitow best supports this claim. In this story, Levitow used song and dance to better communicate with the group she was with due to the language difference. I became more appreciative of her story after I learned that her language of song and dance was ultimately the purpose of her group’s gathering, theater. For a more psychological example, a bridge can even be a learning experience a person has that connects them to a new idea or feeling. This thought could possibly be debated as the reason for the human species and evolution. Hunting-gathering evolving to horticulture for example started from an early human accidently discovering the concept of growing food from seeds, causing them to stop their “always on the run” mentality for food and settle down for long periods of time to grow fields of vegetation. Assuming I am not alone, bridges are considered as obvious welcome mats between cites, states, and countries. The way I see it is, if a bridge is being built, then it’s common sense for developers to think about who will be using them. Therefore this is saying “come on over” from both ends of the structure. To better understand this claim, take a look at the multiple bridges connecting Canada to the state of New York. These bridges must say “welcome” on them, judging by the scarce parking spaces we see occupied by Ontario plates. Due to the fact that my paternal family lives between Niagara Falls, New York and Niagara Falls Ontario, I am very familiar with the Rainbow Bridge. This bridge lays over one of the great wonders of the world. Therefore this site attracts many tourists from all over the world. With that stated, I believe if all went wrong in the American-Canadian relationship, the Rainbow Bridge would be the primary bridge to take out. I believe this bridge is more prone to attack rather than the Peace Bridge because of its location. The Peace Bridge connects Buffalo New York’s metropolitan area to more highways in Fort Erie, Ontario. In my opinion this is a bridge leading to nowhere if you’re coming from the U.S. The Rainbow Bridge would have the most traffic, causing the most damage to both countries. With an example from modern young adult society, building a bridge between two countries is a huge step. This could represent couples who start throwing the word //love// around; saying “I love you” is the completion of a new bridge. Not only was it courageous, it took quite a while before it was finished. When great conflict arises between the couple to a point where ending all ties is the answer, someone might go fourth with getting their number changed and deleting the ex’s number out of their contacts, representing the bridge’s demolition. Each person is left with the decision to build another bridge with someone else. Another example of a bridge being used in our society is in human education itself. From birth, we start making neural connections or bridges in our brains that allow us to understand our world around us. We have built an education system using this concept. Teaching a child the fundamentals such as learning the alphabet and its sounds, or word association such as, cat is to yarn as dog is to bone has proven to allow one to get somewhere they weren’t before. In conclusion, //Bridge// is ultimately a great connector in all aspects of life. The world would have probably gone nowhere without them, literally and figuratively speaking.