Share Your Bridgeport Voice: Eddie Martinez

Librarian Andre Massa sits down with Eddie Martinez, a lifelong Bridgeport native who works as a professional development coach, motivational speaker, & podcaster. Join us to hear him explain his work & life in Bridgeport, including growing up in East Side & doing work with the Puerto Rican Parade of Fairfield County, & about his upcoming podcast & daily morning news report on good things happening in Connecticut.

Transcript

Series Launch And Guest Intro

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to this first episode of Share Your Bridgeport Voice, which is going to be part of Bridgeport Public Library celebration of America 250. What we look to do in this series is to highlight the stories, people, and places that shape our community. So I am very honored to have my first guest here today, the wonderful Eddie Martinez. How are you doing today, Eddie? I'm great. How are you this morning? I'm doing well. I'm doing well. Thank you for coming out actually on a Saturday morning to, you know, join me to talk about every, you know, all that you do in Bridgeport. So, um, what we look to do here, right, is we look to have guests that have been involved in the Bridgeport community for years that have done wonderful work in letting the voices of those who uh might not have their voices heard every day, those that are working closely with with people in the community to help them discover theirselves, their passions, what they want to do, what they can do to give them hope. And you know, we had you here at the library a couple years ago. Um, so I know a lot about like all the good work that you've done in the community, but there might be people that don't. And so I want to give you an opportunity to really talk about yourself, talk about the work you do, and talk about, you know, a lot of the hopes that you have for the future of Bridgeport. So, how's that sound?

SPEAKER_01 1:19

It sounds like a great idea, that, and um that's why I'm here. I'm excited to talk about everything that that I've done and the things that I'm planning on doing.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

All right. So I let me do the first question. So, for listeners who don't know you let, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do?

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Yes. Uh my name is Eddie Martinez. I'm uh born and raised here in Bridgeport. Um, been here my whole life, minus three years and 20 weeks that I spent in the military. Um, other than that, I've been here and currently I am a professional development coach and a podcaster and an inspirational speaker.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

So can you tell me a little bit about how you first got involved in the Bridgeport community?

SPEAKER_01 1:55

Um so when I I'll I'll take it a little further back than that. So when I was when I was in the military, um, I I got to a point where I didn't want to be there anymore because I felt like there was more that I wanted to do, I wanted more that I wanted to give back. Um and so once I got out the military in September of 2007, um, and I came back home, I started to look for ways and to get involved. Um, and one thing led to the other, and I ended up uh helping with the uh with the PRPSC, the Puerto Rican parade of Fairfield County, and that's how I kind of get started.

SPEAKER_00 2:24

So about the Puerto Rican parade of Fairfield County, so there's a lot of like you know, Puerto Rican influence within the Bridgeport community. So I guess my question would be right, is how do you do you feel that Puerto Rican voices are being heard enough in our community right now? And what kind of work do you do, you know, particularly with the parade, particularly about you know, maybe like some of your motivational speaking, to make sure that those voices and those viewpoints are being represented and are being heard within this community?

SPEAKER_01 2:52

I think they are. I think that the the uh PRPFC, which is the organization's um name, I think they do a good job in in uh ensuring that the Puerto Rican voices are heard um here in the city. And a lot of that they do through uh the teaching of culture to our youth. And so I uh I for me that's one of the most important parts of the organization is that they help our young Puerto Ricans uh within Brisbane or within Fairford County uh learn more about the the culture and and kind of uh uh in in a way make sure that that doesn't kind of you know go away, right? Make sure that it still lives on. Because I think that as long as these young um people uh understand the culture and understand the importance of of knowing, understanding and and believing in their culture, then it kind of stays alive within uh Brisbane. Um and and and again, for me that that's one of the important things that the organization does um to make sure that Puerto Rican voices in Brisbane are heard.

SPEAKER_00 3:43

That's actually like an interesting point, right? Because like a lot of like a lot of times, you know, especially for a family like mine, right, where we sort of have like this dynamic where you have first generation immigrants or first generation parents. So they are fully intertwined in the culture of the countries that they might have come from. But then maybe sort of later, like especially for maybe their children, they don't really teach that culture, right? They don't really, you know, sort of imprint that pride on them and where they're from and where where they might have come from, right? You know, so for example, maybe this could take into a maybe this could take in for a form or example of like maybe they don't teach the language that they speak to their children at a young age. So when you really mention like the importance of teaching young kids, the importance of like understanding what Puerto Rico is about, what their culture is about, right? That's something that's powerful to me. So how I guess my question then would be like, how important is it for children to really start to, you know, keep alive that Puerto Rican heritage and that Puerto Rican culture? And what does that look like? Like what kind of things do you teach to them at a young age?

SPEAKER_01 4:46

Well, I I I I think it's important because in in in order for, I feel that in order for the children to understand, you know, kind of where their parents came from and why they are the way that they are in terms of maybe their grit and and and their their their want and need to to be great and to and to you know bring them up in a great way, you have to really understand where they came from, and then that's where the culture part comes in, right? If if the the if the kids understand where parents came from and why they're here, right? Like for example, like for me, I know why my parents came here. They came here for a better life, they came here for work, they came here to to do better. And so once you understand that, then that kind of that that kind of uh helps you understand yourself and and what you should be doing, right? Because again, if you don't know uh kind of like where their uh uh vision came from, then it it it's hard for you to kind of create your own vision. And so I I that's what for me makes it important. But the PRPFC, what I was referring to is they're they have a they have a cultural pageant. And so what the what the cultural pageant does is that it helps uh young uh boys and girls uh understand more about their more about their culture because uh as part of the pageant, they have to you know illustrate certain things at certain events, and if to be able to do that, they have to you know go and study parts of the Puerto Rican culture to be able to do it. And you know, the idea is that uh when they start studying these things and under and understanding these things, not just the language, but the music, the, the um, the the types of music, the instruments, all that kind of stuff, it it helps them again connect to uh that that you know that part of them that they may not know about because like you said, sometimes parents may not teach that to you know to the kids whether they don't want to, maybe they don't have time, maybe they're working. You know, parents don't. And so we try to come in and and and build that bridge between what they don't know and maybe what they should know. And a lot of times parents get involved as well, which also helps out.

Turning Struggle Into Motivation

SPEAKER_00 6:35

Yeah, I actually like to that point actually about like teaching them about the music and the maybe the music of Puerto Rico, right? Maybe some of the dancing traditions. Like literally, as you said that, I was like having kind of some flashbacks to when I was younger, right? So my father's actually from Portugal, my mom's parents are from Portugal, but she was born here. And one of the things they try to get me to do when I was younger was like traditional Portuguese folklore dancing. Have you ever seen that actually before? I I don't believe I have. So, like traditional Portuguese folklore dancing is like, you know, you have like the cassinets that go like dot da-da-da-da-da. So, like one of the things that was like really cool when I was younger is when they got me involved in that dance group because it really made me feel like it really made me understand exactly where my parents and where my family were coming from. And like it made me feel some pride for the culture, right? Like I was hearing all the traditional Portuguese music that I otherwise wouldn't have heard. I was learning how to do the dance moves. I was dressing up in traditional Portuguese, like folk, like like folk dancers. You know, I, you know, unfortunately I didn't really continue it for that long because honestly, the dance moves are very hard to do, but like it still gave me like respect and pride for where I came from, right? And that's been important in shaping the way that I've grown up too, because now I understand fully where my family's come from. And now when I go to Portugal, right, I can feel that I like connected, I think, with the community or maybe somewhat connected, I think, with my own heritage. And that's something I think that's important too, whether you're from Puerto Rico or Brazil or anywhere, right? Um, is to really feel connected with the heritage. So I guess I actually have a bit of a tough question then, right? So you've talked a lot about like how you know you just talked a lot about how like one of the connections to Puerto Rican heritage is about grit, is about determination, it's about hard work, it's about coming from a place, you know, where you might have not, where you might have struggled, where you might have had a hard time, and then just through grit and determination building a better life for yourself. So, how does that influence, you know, maybe from your own personal life, your own personal journey, how does that influence play into the motivational work that you do today with, you know, a lot of your clients? And you know, like I said, we had you here before.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Yeah. Well, I mean, I I I I think that it what it for me, what it did was what it does is that it it it helps me kind of build the story that I'm able to share with those with those clients, or if I'm speaking, right? And so I can talk about, you know, kind of where we came from, where I came from, where I'm at now, and what it took to get there. And it it it you know, although you know most of us are different, we all kind of go through the similar things in terms of being able to get from point A to point B in terms of you know just being better. And so me being able to share, be well, first of all, me being able to know the story of where I came from and being able to share it in a way that people understand and they can relate to is how I'm able I'm able to help them. Because again, maybe people are not from where I'm where I'm from in Bridgeport, maybe they haven't gone through the same things that I've gone through, but they've gone through something similar to it, and we can always connect on that side of it because we at the end of the day, we all want to be better.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

Do you feel that do you feel that your experiences though make it easier for you to connect from other people from Bridgeport as opposed to maybe say from somebody like that might be living like a Stratford or maybe like a Danbury or Hartford or anything like that, right? Because Bridgeport is so unique in the amount of different voices and different cultures that we have within this community. So you being born and bred here with sort of like, I guess, would it be accurate to say born and bred with a Puerto Rican flair, does that make it easier for you to connect uniquely with Bridgeport? Or do you still find yourself that you're able to connect with anybody, even if they haven't exactly lived the Bridgeport experience like you have?

SPEAKER_01 10:06

Uh so both. I can connect with people from Bridgeport because obviously I can I can uh you know I can talk about certain things, certain areas of Bridgeport, things that I've done, talk about certain times, you know, in history in Bridgeport and connect with them, and that makes it easy. But when it comes to struggle, when it comes to you know uh going through things, you don't have to be from a particular place to be able to connect with that person because these struggles happen everywhere. The struggles that that are happening here in Bridgeport are happening in Stratford or happening in New York or happening in Florida, you know, they had they happen everywhere. And so I don't I don't find a problem with that because it it it for me it's just a matter of being able to kind of like curate my story to be able to fit what whoever the person is and let them understand that whatever they're going through or whatever I went through, they may be going through as well. So I I I don't think that um being from Bridgeport makes it difficult to connect with people from other cities or other states.

East Side Memories And Belonging

SPEAKER_00 10:53

Right, right. Actually, I have to ask though, what is your favorite part about Bridgeport or favorite area?

SPEAKER_01 10:58

Right. Well, I I for me, I think it's it's just just the east side, right? Um just because it's it's where I grew up, right? So when I'm in the east side, you know, my mom still lives there. When I when I go visit her and I'm driving there, I'm looking around and and the memories just come up of different things that I was doing when we were outside playing and things that were happening, whether they're positive um memories or maybe more, something more negative, um, that that you know, those things come up as sometimes I'm in the east side. And so that's why it for me is my favorite part.

SPEAKER_00 11:25

So, how does it feel for you to be in a podcast studio on, you know, the upper east side library of Bridgeport?

SPEAKER_01 11:31

It's so it when I come here, I always think about I used to go to Thomas Circus School, which is right up the street.

SPEAKER_00 11:35

We actually had them for a class visit the other day. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:38

Wonderful third graders, by the way. So I I went there um, I believe it was uh four uh fifth, sixth grade. Yeah, fifth and sixth grade. And um, when I come here, I remember that I used to walk by here to go to Thomas Circle School. So again, it whenever I'm in a particular area, I just come up with memories of when I was a kid here.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

I've gotta ask, how many different places was this before it became the library?

SPEAKER_01 11:59

Um that I can remember, I can remember at least at least two or three other things that it was here. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:04

Like I heard it was a buffet, and then it was like some Fitzwillie's place or whatever like that. And then I you know, and then it was like what was it before?

SPEAKER_01 12:13

I I remember it was like a club here or something. Yeah. I remember the neighbors were really, really upset because it was just kind of like messy and whatnot. And I think that was the last thing it was before it finally became what it is now. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

But now, but now we have a now we have a you know, now we have a library here, right? Yes. I work here every day.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

So a beautiful library.

Why Neighborhood Libraries Matter

SPEAKER_00 12:31

So how important do you think it actually is to have a library around this area? You know, you being born and bred in Eastside, right? What does it mean to you to have not one, but soon to be two more libraries?

SPEAKER_01 12:40

I think it's amazing. Um when I was coming up, I couldn't go to a library. Our the closest library to us was in downtown, and we didn't have a car to get to. There was no Uber, you know, they were you know, there was no way to get to it. Um, and so the only library I was seeing was the one at school, the one at school. So I think having one here, not only here, but also in the one in uh you know in the lower east side, I think it's a beautiful thing. It's it's it's reachable and there's so many great things that you can do within the library. I I think it's amazing. I mean, it's it's these libraries are pretty much part of the neighborhood. It's it's a beautiful thing. I wish I was a kid right now.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

Yeah, I mean, I can't tell you like how many patrons walk through these doors every day and they're so enthusiastic or so excited to have a place where, you know, they can be able to use a computer to be able to apply for something or maybe to be able to find, you know, their next passion, right? Yes. Or people that can come in here and they have access to our expertise, have access to our resources that they otherwise didn't have. Like from what it sounds like, right, from your perspective, it sounds like those resources were not accessible to the east side of Bridgeport for a very long time until we finally got these libraries down here. To hear you say that as somebody that is front born and bred on the east side of Bridgeport, that means a lot to me as somebody that works here, like for a very long time. Because maybe before I didn't really understand the impact that I was having on this community. But now to hear that from you, I'm just like literally blown away right now. And, you know, I hope I can continue to have a positive impact, I think, not just, you know, not just for the east side of Bridgeport, but for all of Bridgeport in general.

SPEAKER_01 14:05

I mean, I I could only imagine how different, I mean, maybe not drastically, but how different my youth would have been if there would have been a library around because of the things that you can get to, you know, especially in this day and age, you know, with computers, internet, whatnot, you know, podcasting, yeah, you guys are podcasting, you know. I started I started podcasting when I was in my 30s. Who knows if as a kid, you know, I come in here, I see this, and I'm like, oh my God, this microphone, let's do it, you know? And so who knows how how you know how my life could have turned out had I had that opportunity to do that? Because I I actually I actually just a quick kind of you know side note. I lived in Hartford for a little while when I was when I was young, maybe for about uh six months to a year, and we lived across the street from a library. And um, and I remember how much time I spent in that library at the time. You know, they had they had um you know, you come in and you, you know, you you you're able to sign up for internet for like 30 minutes or whatever it was. And I remember how great it was. Used to have the library there. We were able to go and kind of hang out in there. Um and so just thinking about that, it makes me think, man, if we had this in the east side of Bridgeboard when I was coming up, I think it would have been amazing.

SPEAKER_00 15:01

Yeah, well, like especially like we see a lot of teams actually that come in here and to be able to give them a space where they can just be themselves and be safe and really have access to a lot of the things that, you know, maybe you didn't have access to when, you know, when you were their age, or I think maybe even when I didn't have access to when I was their age too. I think it's it's it's just an amazing thing. And you know, I'm glad, you know, I'm I'm really hoping that we can get Lower East Side open, you know, because I think that's gonna be a wonderful resource or a wonderful place for people to go to down there too. Yes, yes, definitely. So I know you're looking forward actually to Lower East Side opening up really soon too.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

I I really am. Like I said, my mom still lives there. So I think I think it's a beautiful thing. I I currently I live in the North End, and so I I I go to the library up there a lot. Um But again, it's just I I think it's great that Bridgeport has so many libraries, you know. No matter where you live, you kind of have one kind of close to you. I think it's a beautiful thing.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

Yeah. Like you like, you know, hopefully we can get hopefully, you know, there's gonna be a library that's within walking distance to everybody so that you know you don't need a car, you don't need necessarily you don't even need a bus. You know, if there's a library you want to get to, you can get there.

SPEAKER_01 15:57

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 15:57

And then there's gonna always be the best professional staff to be able to help you with whatever you need.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

And and the events, I I I currently I I constantly see the different events that you guys put together for kids, and I think it's a beautiful thing. I I love that, yes.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

Yeah. So uh you did actually mention that you were looking to do that you were looking to do podcasting. Can you actually tell me a little more about that?

SPEAKER_01 16:16

Yeah, so I've been I actually I've been podcasting since 2017. So um when when I I I started, so in 2017, I was working for the city of Connecticut. I was a judicial marshal at the time, and um, I just found that uh I I wasn't really fulfilled in what I was doing. And so I I I took a leap of faith, you they say, and I quit that job and I went on a journey of trying to discover kind of what I'm what was my purpose. And that that journey uh is what led me to the PRPFC that we spoke about. But it also led me to meeting a woman that was involved in a in the in a um a radio station at the time and then speaking to her and telling her my interest in becoming, you know, uh uh, you know, uh and getting involved in the radio kind of uh industry. Um she uh spoke to some people, uh helped helped me uh join her team at this radio station they had going on in Hamden, Connecticut. And um, that was my love for being behind the microphone, headphones, the whole thing. That's when my love started for it. And uh um about six months later, I started podcasting out of a studio that I built in my in my home. And uh I've been doing this since so since 20 since the end of 2017, I've been podcasting. Took some time off here and there. Um, but uh that's kind of where it started. And now I'm actually getting ready to open up my own studio in Milford, Connecticut. Um, hopefully we should be open by next month.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

Yeah, you're actually telling me a little bit about the uh your studio opening in Milford. So what do you have in mind, I think, for you know, you don't I don't want you to spoil anything, right? But what do you have in mind actually for the content of your podcast?

A Mission To Share Good News

SPEAKER_01 17:40

Yeah, so I have two different things in mind. So the first thing I want to do is I want to continue what I was already doing, and what I was doing was a podcast called the Transcendent Outlook Podcast, uh, which highlights uh people, businesses, or organizations in Connecticut that are just doing, I think, outstanding things. Um what I was seeing uh back in 2017, and I'm still seeing it today, was that uh we we do a really good job at uh at highlighting the bad things that are happening within our community, right? The things that kind of get more attention. And what I wanted to do was I wanted to highlight people who were doing great things who I thought deserved to be highlighted because of what they were doing. And I started doing that in 2017. We're still doing that today. Um, but now um because of this uh studio that I have in Milford, I'm gonna be able to uh meet people in person and have a better uh, I guess, connection with with my with my uh with my guest and have have a better show. So that the first part is to kind of keep that going. The second part is uh I'm in the middle of uh organizing or putting together a daily show that's gonna pretty much highlight positive things happening within Connecticut. So the idea is to come on live uh every morning at 10 in the morning and have a podcast that's gonna last between half an hour and an hour where I'm able to share stories of positive things happening within Connecticut with the hope that we're we're we're able to uh uh uh help people see that there are good things happening in Connecticut. You know, it of course the other stuff does happen, but we can highlight the good things that are happening and we could, you know, spend some time, at least start our day every week with with with uh with positive stories of our own people, of our own communities. And so that's kind of what I'm working at at the moment.

SPEAKER_00 19:12

Yeah, it's interesting, I think, that you mentioned about sharing, you know, only positive stories on your podcast, right? Because a lot of times I think the media hyperfixates on a lot of negative news, right? Or a lot of news that creates fear, that creates uncertainty, because that's news that sells, right? So what was the inspiration, I think, behind you really flipping the script, right? And trying to really just there's gonna be no negativity in your podcast as long as you can, you know, as long as you can avoid it, right? So what was the primary motivation behind trying to like flip that script?

SPEAKER_01 19:42

I I I I think that um a lot of it came from me, right? Growing up in Bridgeport, I wasn't the best kid. I was, I got in trouble a lot. I did, you know, I just I did silly things, you know. And um, and what I saw was that uh that kind of became my my identity in terms of like what other people saw, right? What other professionals saw or family members saw, like, oh, there goes this kid again, you know. And I wanted to kind of do good because I wanted to be able to for people to look at me differently. And what I find is that when a lot of people talk about, you know, Connecticut or the city of Brisbane in particular, the first thing that comes to mind is negative things that have happened, whether in the past, in the 90s, 80s, or even today. And so I wanna I wanted to hopefully try to add my part in in sharing the good things that are actually happening, because I feel like there's a lot of good things happening. But as you just said, bad news is what sells. And so I'm I'm gonna try to kind of go against the current and just show the good things that are happening because I think that those are the things that need to be need to be highlighted. I'm a father now, and so I want my kids to be able to see the good things that are happening within their communities, not just see negative things. And again, we i I I think that a balance is great, right? So you have to have a balance. But right now, I feel like the balance is tipped well over on the uh on the negative side.

SPEAKER_00 20:51

Right. And like I think that's something that would be, I think, be so empowering to a lot of youth, not just in Bridgeport, but in every, you know, everywhere too, right? Because instead of hearing about all the negative things that could happen to them as they're growing up, or maybe somebody that's struggling right now, right, that might be an adult. They're only hearing news about it's just gonna get worse from here, right? But if there was some content, if there was some kind of motivate, you know, if there was some kind of content, if there was some kind of like, you know, some a positive message that was being enforced to me every day, I might actually have hope for what I can do within my community. I might have hope for what I can do for the future of my community, right? And I think that's something that's so important. Like I say, not just to Bridgeport, but to anyway too. If people can get that positive message, they will understand that there are so many amazing things that they can do within their within their home, within their community, and really beyond even their community, right?

Youth Civic Power In Action

SPEAKER_01 21:39

No, I I I I I 100% agree with you. I I I a lot of it, I would like to add, also came from the work that I did with GBLN. I used to be involved with an organization in Bridgeport called the Greater Bridgeboro Latino Network, GBLN. And one of the things that we did was that we we provided a civic engage engagement program to seventh and eighth graders. And what that uh civic engagement program did was that. It helped our young folks understand what uh you know what local politics looks like, you know, and and and what pretty much their their their city of Bridgeport is made up of. And the idea was to show them that a lot of great people come from here. The same place that you're coming out of, a lot of people come from come from here and are they're doing great things because we wanted to do what you're saying. We wanted we wanted to show them, you know, what it is that you can be, even coming from here. With the idea being that we want these young people to, you know, uh finish eighth grade, go to high school, then go to college, become great, and stay here. Like don't go somewhere else. Because the issue is people become great and then they go become great somewhere else, and they go make a c another community great when they could just make our community great. And so what we wanted to do with that program was show kids, hey, listen, like you could be great here. Like, like your greatness could be held here and you could help us become better. So rather than rather than saying, oh man, where I came from, it wasn't good, you could say, you know what, where I came from wasn't good, but I'm gonna stay here and make it be better with the next generation.

SPEAKER_00 23:00

Actually, like actually, I think that's really I'm actually glad you actually brought up like that civic engagement, I think, role too, right? So when you're talking about, you know, you're helping young children become engaged with the fact that they have voices, right? How important is it? I think you mentioned it a little bit, right? But how important is it for youth to understand that the way that they engage with the, you know, maybe the political process with Bridgeport? Do you feel that that helps them really understand, you know, help them understand that their voice matters and that their voice counts and that they can be a voice for positive change and then make that, and then make that change stay here and stay in Bridgeport?

SPEAKER_01 23:35

I I I think it's important because it shows them the power that they have, you know, to be able to make the difference. And I'll share a quick story if you don't mind. Yeah, sure. Um, so we we we had a class. So what we did was that with every class, we gave them a project to do, but they got to choose the project. So they got to choose something to do within the community. And we just had to kind of help facilitate it with our connections and whatnot, right? And so one of the kids uh mentioned, hey, listen, in front of my house, there's a bus stop, a city bus stop. And because there's a bus stop there, people come out of the bus and they just throw the garbage in the floor, like if they're eating like, you know, some chips or something, they'll throw it on the floor or a bottle of soda, you know. And so he said, you know, I really want to put it, I would, I really want the city to put a trash can there. So when they come off, they're able to put the trash can, you know, to put the garbage in the trash can. So he said, okay, let's talk about it. How can we make this happen? And to make a long story short, we we taught him how to get in contact with the city and get the city to then put a trash can in that spot. But what the kid didn't understand was that it's more than just calling somebody and saying, hey, put a trash can here. You have to call, you have to advocate for it, you have to go to city, you have to go to city hall, you know, read letters and show them why it's important, right? And then we had to show them, okay, it not only is it difficult to do, but it also costs money. But we were able to teach them and we were we we were able to put the trash can where the kid wanted it, but now the whole class learned the process of doing it. And so they learned the process of of how things kind of work in the city. Sure, it was a it was a small example, a bite-sized example, but now they understand that everything is a process. It's not just like, hey, let's go to Walmart and get a trash can, right? It's a process, but even more important than that, it's possible and we have the power to do it as long as we're willing to kind of follow the steps to get things done within the city.

SPEAKER_00 25:06

Yeah, I like actually the analogy you kind of gave, right? Like the act of self of getting a trash can might not seem like a big deal because yeah, you could go to Walmart and just get a trash can. It's the process you took to get there, right? And that's just an example of like if you're able to get the city to do something which is quote unquote that small, but you learn how to do that process to get that trash can there, that same knowledge you learned about that process, it really begs the question to them of what more could you accomplish, right? It might be a trash can today, but it could be something even more important to you another day, right? It could be something that's even more important to community, it could be something that's even more, you know, quote unquote lasting than that, right? So do you feel that they really gotten a sense of appreciation, I think, for what they did to get that trash can there? And do you think that maybe they have more hope that they could do a little more?

SPEAKER_01 25:49

Yeah, no, I definitely think they did. I think that before, before the project was, was, uh, was was finalized, I think in their eyes, it was, it was, it was, um, it was something of like, oh, well, that's what happens. It is what it is, you know? The garbage is there, it is what it is. After that, after the project was was um, you know, uh done, they had the idea of like, oh no, I can do something about it. And I know you just said it and I said it, we're just repeating ourselves over and over, but I it just comes down to that. It comes down to seeing something and understanding that you can do something about that. You don't have to just let it be. And I I that's beautiful not only for Bridgeboard, but that's beautiful in life period. That's that's beautiful when you think about yourself. You are who you are today, but you don't have to be who you are tomorrow. And that you could change that. You just have to put the work in.

SPEAKER_00 26:29

Right. And I feel like a lot of that probably plays into your motivational speaking too, right? It does. Because a lot of people I feel might just feel that they don't really have the ability or the voice to be able to change something, but once they get a taste of that process, it's almost like it becomes I guess in a way, it's almost like it becomes addicting, right? Because then it becomes addicting exactly how much change you can make if you're willing to apply yourself. And I think that's something that's like extremely important to teach to a young age that as long as you believe in yourself and as long as you're willing to put in the work, to put in the grit, to have the grit, to be able to basically be a nuisance, right? To the, you know, to get things what you want, it it can be super empowering.

SPEAKER_01 27:08

No, it it it definitely is. I mean, it there's a combination there of like faith and hard work. You know, you can have faith, but faith doesn't work without hard work, and hard work doesn't work without faith. Absolutely.

Get Involved And Closing Thoughts

SPEAKER_00 27:17

So I guess one last question I have for you before uh before we probably have to end this. Like what what hopes and dreams do you have, I think, for Bridgeport going forward?

SPEAKER_01 27:27

I I I think that my I don't think I know that my hopes and and and dreams for Bridgeport is for our people here to see and and really um understand that we can be better. Like things can get better. I I that that's my my my you know, and it's super short and maybe it's not so deep, but I just want people to really understand that we can do better as long as we're willing to put in that work. Um I I think that too often we kind of just we we give up too too too easily and um and we don't have to. If if we look back at at the history of Bridgeport, you know, we've come a long way um from where we were, you know, 10, 20 years ago, and we could still you know do more, but we have to be willing to put in the work rather than sitting around and waiting for somebody else to do the work for us.

unknown 28:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:11

I think that's a great way actually to leave off, right?

SPEAKER_01 28:14

Like we have there's so much potential in this community, and I'm excited to see the work that you continue to do in the future, and then I hope I can continue to if if if I if I could just share, you know, if if you know for those uh folks who who who wanna uh you know see better and and do better, um, get involved, you know. I think that's the biggest thing is to get involved. There's different ways for you to get involved, whether it's you yourself doing something or just getting involved with bigger organizations who are doing things, you know, go to your local library, see how you can help them, go to your to your to your local organizations, see how you can help them. You know, uh coming from working with several organizations, nonprofit organizations, we love you know, people who are willing to you know give some other time to help, you know, our mission. And so again, if you want to help and you just don't know how, just get involved. Somebody out there will know, you know, where to push you where you can then help and and uh and help things better uh here in our city.

SPEAKER_00 29:02

Well, I I couldn't honestly have said that any better myself. Like, thank you so much for actually being here. Once again, I'd like to thank the wonderful Eddie Martinez for taking time out today to come record this latest episode of Share Your Bridgeport Voice, a series where we highlight the stories, peoples, and places that shape our communities. Once again, thank you so much for being here, Eddie. Um, and we hope to actually have you again someday tier too. Yes, I'm looking forward to it. Thank you so much.