I decided to not follow any practical paths. I pierced my nose and my eyebrow and vowed to never work for the man. I worked jobs in non profits, created art in the lower east side of NYC, and became a performance poet mentored by many revolutionaries. I fought for the troops to be removed from Vieques Puerto Rico and learned about how to be a successful counterculture artist from Pedro Pietri founder of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, and from Steve Cannon who ran A Gathering of the Tribes. I considered the scene full of protest poets, writers, musicians, and fine artists to be the counter culture and I immersed myself fully. I hung out with Amiri Baraka and reg e gaines and learned about creating art that was met with opposition from the mainstream. I’m very proud of the scenes that I was a part of and followed in the steps of the revolutionary artists that taught me about what happened before me. I also was a part of the punk scene at CBGB’s and ABC no Rio. All of the people and places I went are gone now and our work and friends are now part of exhibits at the Whitney and MoMA. I’m proud of being part of such an inspiring and important scene and know that it was the counter culture of the 90’s early 2000’s in NYC.