Intisar Abioto ’08 spent last semester documenting the aspirations and dreams of people all over the United States and Djibouti and telling their stories through photography, writing and dance. I sat down with Intisar and discovered how her own dream is becoming a reality through The People Could Fly Project.
ANNALEE: So, tell me all about your project.
INTISAR: Basically, it started out a year ago. I was trying to plan my summer and I wanted to do something good. I didn’t wanna just do some[thing] normal; I wanted to be doing a thing that meant something to me. So I decided to think of the things that were important to me, which were to write, to dance, to take pictures, but also, like, story-telling. I wanted also to travel, so I was like, “How can I do those things in one thing?” So I decided to put it together and come up with the project.
So I just started to brainstorm things that were important to me, and I took a story from my childhood that I really liked about people who were enslaved who could fly, but they forgot that they could fly. Basically, I thought that that was people, you know, or Black people, or people of color, anyone at all, that had a dream or a feeling or something that they felt like they had to do. But, you know, sometimes we don’t think we can do them or we think we have to do them a certain way or just, like, thinking about these constraints of the world, you know? But taking that kind of freedom, like I wanted to find that freedom.
I guess the concept of the project was people or young people traveling and talking to other young people in general. It sounds kind of fanciful or fantastical, but I think it’s really important because a dream or a thought is the beginning of anything, you know. I don’t know, it’s just so important to me to talk to people about their stories and dreams because I think that’s where we find our meaning.
A: I think we all have dreams, but a lot of the time they can be so big and overwhelming that we just get caught in the obstacles and end up doing nothing. What I think is really amazing is that you had this dream and you actually did it. How did you get to that point where you said, “This is really important to me, and I’m actually going to do it”?
I: I guess I was at this point where I thought it was really important just for you to find your joy or something that just gives you joy. ‘Cause, if you’re doing something that you really love, no one ever has to tell you to do it, you just can do it. I mean, the fact that I love to take pictures—I always wanted to be an adventurer, someone who went to other places and did things and took pictures. As I child, I read adventure books about people going to far-off places, so I guess when I was thinking about it, I was thinking about that. And it’s interesting how your dreams from childhood can carry into adulthood. They’re still there.
A: If you could go back and relive any moment, which would it would be?
I: The planning stages, the moment when you come up with another great idea, the moments when you are so in your head and so excited and so on the cusp of yourself, that’s the only place you are.
A: What are some of the most important things you’ve learned while doing this project?
I: Sometimes, when you’re on a mission, you really just have to turn away from the negative, or what may seem like a problem or impossibility. Stay focused on your vision. Keep it steady in your mind’s eye. Imagine you have already made it happen. Imagine you are already there. No one else can see it or believe in it as strongly as you.
If you believe something can happen and you step out there into the world like, “I am here,” with no apologies, no apologies to yourself foremost…sometimes, we spend so much time apologizing to ourselves for what we have or haven’t done, what we think we can’t do.
If you dare to step into that place of self-assurance that only ’seems’ like the void, anything and literally everything! You can happen for you. Please believe it. It will be so amazing. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about your dream or vision, what anyone may or may not say to you. As long as you believe in it, see it, feel it, the right people and the right things and the right moments will always come along.A: What are the three words that best sum up your experience?
I: Thoughts become things.
A: What are your plans for this summer?
I: Well, I’m still working that out, but I learned so much! I want to go to at least three countries [to continue the project], but I know that I could at least make seven. And I just want to talk to other people about some of the stuff I learned because I want people to be involved in these things. It’s just so possible for young people to do things. You’re not just a student, you’re not just, like, someone who doesn’t have power. You have so much power to do things. If we could know that, if people could understand that, man, it’d just be so great…we could do so many things! I dunno, we’re just so much bigger than sometimes we think we are.
A: And what about next year? Are you going to continue the project throughout or are you going to get a real job, settle down somewhere?
I: This is part of it. I will say this to anyone: it’s important for people our age to make things now. Like, you don’t have to go out there and get a job like that. Or, like, you don’t have to put yourself in someone’s structure. I mean, this whole thing was something that I made up. I made it up! Like a book, like a story, I just made it up and then it became real because I thought it could be real. Don’t think that someone has to grant you authority—that’s just not true.
A: Where do you visualize yourself in 10 years?
I: In 10 years, I wanna be a traveling, dancing, writing photographer. Like, dreamin’ up crazy ideas for the world that make the most sense.
A: Is there anything else you want to say that you didn’t get to say?
I: If anyone wants to talk about something they wanna make happen, write me an e-mail and we can, like, go to Pi. I’m so gung-ho about talking to people about making stuff happen. So anyone can come talk to me, I’ll come talk to you!
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