There are so many reasons why I love Brooklyn. I’m a Brooklyn native, born and raised in Bushwick. I look back on my youth and appreciate that I had the opportunity to witness so many elements of the borough. I’d walk through block parties, listening to the first sounds of hip-hop and disco. Kids played outside. Boys played skelly, girls played double-dutch. When I talked about being from Bushwick, I’d get a uncertain look or pause or a really? Times have certainly changed.