Exhale… I have been writing. Still am. I’ll post links when they’re published, but just caught up on the last three issues of New York last night and in one of them was a great story about a kid from Queens (my hood), Kevahn Thorpe, who keeps getting arrested for shoplifting, goes to jail, shoplifts, goes to jail. rinse. repeat. All so he can stay fresh.
He really seems disillusioned, unaware or perhaps uncaring of the fact that he could use his love of fashion to get a job as a consultant or launch a real career. And make lots of money off of his passion and buy his own clothes or get them for free. He’s unfazed, currently serving time in prison.
“The Fashion Thief”
When his frustrated mother threw nine pairs of sneakers down their building’s trash chute, Kevahn waited up all night and was there when the sanitation workers unloaded the garbage compactor to retrieve them. His junior school year had started, and he was reveling in his new reputation. “If you’re walking down the street with average clothes, people won’t pay attention to you,” says Melisa. “But then you walk down the street wearing, like, a thousand-dollar outfit, people gonna look at you a certain way. He’d hide stuff from his mom and keep it here. He’d actually come from Queensbridge in the morning and get dressed and go all the way back out there.” [New York]
This story kind of depressed me. The kid is obviously delusional but prison isn’t the place for him. He’s been given a gang of chances to get it together but has blown the opportunity every single time. That and he’s obviously a terrible thief. Great article, though.
yeah it’s depressing. I think there needs to be more of a hands-on approach for kids like him. he just needs someone to stick with him and teach him how to channel his passion toward something more positive