Meet Danica
2022 Friendship Games Ambassador from Baltimore
July 28, 2022
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I lived in South Carolina until I was five or six. Then I moved to Maryland. I lived in Colombia, Catonsville, Baltimore and, currently, I live in Randallstown. I live with my Nana and Pop Pop, also two younger brothers and one sister, but they’re all my foster family. I visit my dad on Thursdays. I have a twin sister; her name is Lauren, but she lives with another foster family. Because of moving to different schools a lot, it was hard to actually have friends, and I had to grow up fast and so I didn’t get the opportunity to joke and play around as much.
Like most African Americans, I grew up in church. Where I live, it’s quiet. Nothing really happens. It’s more of an older people community. There’s some kids but none of them are around my age. I like my neighbor. Sometimes I go over to her house and stay for some hours. I just graduated from the 8th grade. I’ll be going to Carver Center for Arts and Technology. I got into the literary arts magnet.
Q: What's the one thing that you'd want people to know about you?
That I'm very outgoing.
Q: Do you have a special talent that most people don't know about?
That I sing to myself. And I sing in the church choir.
Q: Who's your hero? Why?
My hero is myself. The reason being because I think I'm an inspirational person. I inspire myself even when I might feel low. There's always one part of me that can't stay sad forever. Like if I'm mad, I can't help myself but to smile in spite of everything.
Q: What do you think are the most important attributes of a leader?
Courage, because without courage, then how could you be a superhero?
Q: What are you most looking forward to about Friendship Games?
Just going in general, but also meeting other people and hearing their accents. Plus, trying new food.
Q: Will it be your first time on an airplane? In another country? If so, what are you looking forward to about visiting another country? How do you feel about traveling abroad without your family?
Yes, it is. First time on an airplane, and in another country.
Q: Is there anything you're nervous or unsure about going to the Friendship Games?
No, I'm not worried about anything.
Q: Why do you think PeacePlayers wants to bring together 130 young people from around the world?
That way we can celebrate our differences. And also to meet people that we might not be able to meet if we were here in America. And also just to build relationships with other people on the other side of the world.
Q: If you could do anything you wanted when you grew up, what would it be/what's your biggest dream for the future - for yourself, for your family, for your community?
The biggest dream for myself is to be rich. For my sister and me, I wish that we will have an unbreakable bond. For my community, I wish that one day judgment wouldn't be passed towards one another, and it would be somewhere safe and you wouldn't have to worry about something happening.
Q: What's it like in your city/town/neighborhood? How would you describe it to someone who's never been there?
Small, complex, simple. Some neighborhoods are bigger than others. But nothing really happens here. Some areas are more quiet than others. Especially when it comes to the single family homes. Those areas are quiet. But the townhomes or the apartments – that's the loud parts.
Q: If you could time travel for one hour, where would you go? What would you do?
Well, first. When it comes to time travel, you have to be very careful with that. But I would go back to the time when I was a baby. And I don't know what I would do. I think I would just reminisce over the times that I probably wouldn't remember because I was a baby. But then when I go back to the present, I would just look back on that, “Wow, that was me, and everything that my family said about me.” Like I had a mohawk when I was a baby. I ‘d be like, “Yeah, I had a mohawk.”
