By: Arthur D. Alfaro
OwlFeed Journalist
Raheemat “Ray” Alade is a fellow student here at AFHS, going through the motions. She was born in Nigeria but has moved to many different countries throughout her life such as England and Canada. Her mother, a traveling doctor, moved around the globe, taking her family with her on her travels, eventually settling in Canada for a bit. There, Ray found her dream college, University of Toronto.
Ray is very driven by her love of art, music, and non-conformist attitude. She began telling me a little about her home life and her upbringing as a Muslim. She says that she wasn’t as religious as her parents, but that her parents had learned to accept the way she views the religion.
After, we had a lengthy discussion about her taste in music. She enjoys listening to a wide spectrum of musical artists such as Tame Impala, The Temptations, and Louis Armstrong just to name a few. Music has also influenced the way she dresses, telling me she has a “very retro” style. She looks to the decades between the ’50s and the ’90s for her inspiration.
Her various attributes and traits are heavily reflected by her outfits, dawning various stripes and patterns tucked neatly into 90s style loose fit jeans, held together with a black leather belt a la 70s discotech-goers.
She told me a story about her favorite pair of shoes she owns, a pair of 70s Nike Cortez Trainers. The story was quite fascinating, telling me about how her father purchased them in Europe sometime in the 70s. This story carried a message she uses as a way of life, telling me that she must appreciate every luxury that comes her way.
Back on the topic of fashion, she is a connoisseur of thrift store shopping to really get those vintage outfits out there. She told me that her thrifted outfits are somewhat of a walking, wearable statement of her appreciation and humbleness of the clothes and outfits that she is able to compose.
We both then proceeded to go into a discussion about art and it’s various double meanings, referencing the book “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” by Robert M. Pirsig and it’s topic on the modes of thought. Seeing things in the romantic, face value, or the classic, underlying value of something. The song “Hey Ya” came to our minds, discussing it’s hidden message of how the listener doesn’t want to listen to what they have to say, they just want to dance. We gushed over the song’s smart lyrics, pulling apart it’s verses and obvious messages to the listener.
Our discussion lasted quite a while, not even noticing that we had about five minutes to wrap up. Ray was quite an interesting character, and I hope that readers of her articles can get a slice of what she’s about, as I did during our interview.