- i know. we just found out they're having twins. - yup. um, i mean i could really go either way. i think krista wants one, but, you know, if i have a child, i want them to have it better than i did. not that i had it bad, but... ♪ - yeah, there we go! ♪ josh: i want my son to, to be around our family here, and just make an effort to try to get here at least once a year. why did i leave? well, for, i mean, it's a challenge for me. it's, it's been a challenge that, like,

i ended up with a partner who was from california and wanted to live there. (indistinct chatter) you want cake? we've got cake. josh: i was alive through youngstown's implosion the whole time, so, and now i live in, in another really extreme reality. living around the bay area right now. the bay area has a housing crisis because there's too much wealth, and so there are people who can't afford to live there anymore, and i just feel like... our economic and political systems are failing us in both instances, right? yeah, i mean, i think, obviously... (chuckling): there's big changes that need to be made. but i don't... i don't let that stop me from doing things that can be done. we might not... (chuckles) ...not bring about that level of change, but we can still do something, we can still fight, too, so...

(people murmuring) (indistinct chatter) (music playing distantly) (chattering continues) (marchers singing "we shall overcome") ♪ oh, deep in my heart ♪ i do believe julius: it was easy for me to perpetrate violence on another young man because i didn't love myself. so i wanted that young man to hurt like i hurt. i didn't get love from my father, so i wanted somebody else to feel the same hurt that i was feeling. so i had low self-esteem, and i filled myself up to make myself feel better. love your neighbor as you love yourself, okay?

(applause) girl: tell my mama i said hi! (laughs) (kids laughing) ian: we're here today to celebrate the renovation of our 100th home in the city of youngstown, something that we're all very proud of. we're seeing promising results in terms of vacancy going down for a nuer of years... when we started this work, i... (chuckles): i never thought i'd be sitting here now. we have so much more to do, but seeing the amount that we've done and that we've accomplished, that's what keeps me moving and keeps all of us moving, i think. tiffany: ...because we're writing the specs ourselves, we're doing the work ourselves. and with each project, it does because a little bit easier because we have systems in place... i would be lying if i said, like, "oh, i just wanna be single forever and just, you know, really focused on career." you know, i would love to meet someone, and get married,

and have a family, and do all of those things. but i wanna make the best of what's in front of me. everything that's happened to me when i wasn't planning are all of the best things in my life. you ready? - yeah. - we gotta roll. zachariah: one more back flip. tiffany: oh, my gosh. yes, because, naturally, you do a back flip before you get in the car every time. - (grunts): thank you, thank you. ernest: get in the car! - yes, ma'am. (kids murmuring) (kids laughing, playing) ndistinct chter) ild: o was to help? man: ank you l for coming so we' going tbless thfood d then wcan starto eat dear hvenly faer, come fore y king youo bls this fily reunn. and heavly fatr, bls the al th we'rebout treceiv alsoheavenly fher, i would li to thanyou fo she s been t sweetes into ml. and mo kinde

(people eering - haelujah ♪ i got the house! (laughs) i am beyond excited, be-yond. (sighs) oh, my gosh, you have no idea.

♪ (light switch clicking) (exhales): yeah, this is good. (lock clicks) (keys jangling) it's done, so... just gonna... lock it up and give the new owner the keys, so... (key turning)

♪ there's auty everywhere that people tend to ignore. those people who haven't actually come into the commuty and gotten to know us and they wanna talk about how bad it is have really hindered our growth. but the city is changing. man: ready? one, two, three. (applause and cheers) bernie: put them in the toy box. - ba. - where's the toy box? ba. (babbling) (bernie laughing) zy'aire: ba. ♪ (church bells ringing) julius: that's my wife.

♪ (people murmuring) (dog barking) ♪ ♪

♪ del toro: stay up to date on america reframed at worldchannel.org. subscribe to world channel's youtube to go beyond the lens with our filmmakers.

tell us what you think using #americareframed. ♪ ♪ everybody alys tells you when you're young, like, "go, you got to go see the world, man. "you got to get out there. the world is yours." and i was always like, "have you seen the world?" (laughter)

you can have it. you can have it. i'm a firm believer in the idea that it is perfectly okay for the world to be as big as the city you came from. i'm from richmond, virginia. north side, to be exact. and i grew up in a duplex on lamb avenue. me and my mom up top, my grandma down bottom. the north side part is important, because i don't know how much you know about richmond, but richmond is split, north and south, by the james river. north side one side, south side the other side. and if you're from either part, going to the other side is like going to the moon. like, legitimately, it's only 20 minutes, but it's sfar that people never go. and if you're a north sider and trying to go to south side, it is guaranteed that you have said the words, "all the way over." example: "yo, my car broke down." "where you at?

"all the way over south side? (laughter) you ain't got aaa?" like, i mean, it's hard to understand, but that's just a richmond thing. even getting on highways is kind of a journey, right? like, when i was a kid, like, i didn't learn, like, the numbers on exits until i was like 22, i just knew the streets, you know what i mean? so when me and my mom would get on the highway, i started driving, she would always see the sign that said "washington, d.c." and she would say, "don't you take me all the way to washington, d.c." and i was like, "you know we're just going to walmart, right?" (laughter) so, you got to... think about how weird it was thfirst time i got on a plane, man. i was 18 years old. just about... i was about to go... it was a week before i was supposed to go to colle, and i had this trip planned to go see my big brother in ohio. now, the problem is, i didn't ask my mother if i could go. i told her i was going. when i told her, she assumed... she just treated me like i was talking about some imaginary plane

and some imaginary friend. she kind of brushed it off. but then, the day of the trip came, and i'm packing my bags up, putting my stuff in my bags, i'm ready to go. and i asked my mom, walked up, she's like, "what you doing?" i was like, "i'm ready to go to ohio." she's like, "how you going to get to the airport?" and i was like, "you going to take me, right?" she was like... (laughter) and i could tell by the look on her face that, you know, she said it without even saying a word. she's like, "oh, you think you're grown? how you going to get there?" and i was like, i was like, "you know what, you're right. i'm 18, i'm going to do what any adult would do." i went downstairs and... talked to my grandma, that's what i did. (laughter) and grandma helped me get a taxi to get to the airport. i went all the way out to ohio. and i'm probably going to be the only person you meet in your life that talks about cleveland like it's new york city. (laughter) like, i got off the plane, i felt like i was in times square. all the buildings looked like the empire state building, they were really wawas. all the cars looked like... all the cars looked like mercedes-benzes, they were kias. but it was just so cool to be in, like, a new place

and see this place i had never en. but the weird rt was that, you know, once i got there, me and my brother did the same things we always did when were in richmond. we just played video games, watched basketball, and ate chocolate chip cookies. like, that's really the time we spent. when i got back, though, i knew i had to brace myself, because i was still in trouble. and i didn't know how bad it was going to be. i walked in the house, my mom's sitting on the couch, and all she does is stare in silence. and i don't know if you've ever seen a sniper rifle... (laughter) but that stare was like a red dot on my chest. and that silence was like a trigger. and i was like, "oh, man, i am in for it." i just go to... well, you can't do anything, i just went to sleep. next day, i wake up, things are going to be better. red dot, still there. next day, i wake up, red dot, still there. it's wednesday, red dot's still there, and i don't know how long you have to go with a red dot on your chest to realize, "i need to start making arrangements." (laughter)

i needed to figure out what i was going to do if my mother never spoke to me again. (chuckles) and you've got to understand, like, it's not, like, man, me and my mom talked every single day for 18 years, that was my role... that was my best friend and my tag team partner. so, this was a very strange occurrence. and i was supposed to be moving to college, man, i need to talk to somebody. she had the microwave ready, the refrigerator ready, you know, all the stuff you move into college. and we also had this one trunk that my grandma gave me. it was a white trunk. paint was chipped on it, you could see the blue underneath, because it had been painted over, and the game plan was always to paint this trunk the colors of the school i was going to, virginia commonwealth university. but i wasn't there to paint it, and we weren't talking after. so at some point i decide, "you know what, i got to leave. i got to get out of here." just to break the silence, this is maddening. and i left on a friday, came back from wherever i went, and the trunk that was painted white... was painted black and yellow. and we never talked about it at all.

but in that moment, i knew everything was okay again. and i also realized that she was never mad. she's a single mom, i'm her only kid, and this was the first moment when she realized her son was stepping out into the world. she wasn't dropping me off at college, she was dropping me into the world. and the world is a scary place. you find that out when you get older. i would take richmond over anywhere in the world, every day. just don't ask me to go over south side. (laughter) (cheers and applause) ♪

i was born and raised in dominican republic to a conservative, middle-class family, and for someone with my profile, the path to follow in life is, you go to school, you find yourself a nice man from a "respected family," you get married, have kids, and are dominated for the rest of your life. at 24, i had graduated school. i've been dating a nice man from a good family, we're talking marriage and kids. everything is on track. however, sometimes in life, thin happen the way you do not plan them. so i was very devastated when we broke up. i didn't know what to do with my life for months, until one time, i was thinking about all these movies where people go to paris, they find love and happiness, and i want that. so, i quit my job, i sell my car,

and i buy a one-way ticket to paris. and when i tell my family and my friends about this, some of them are very excited. but some of them are, like, "but why? "you don't know anyone there. "you don't even speak french. what are you going to do there?" one of these people was my dad. he was not happy at all. in fact, he thought that i should stay home forever. and every time that i would talk to my dad or to my friends and they would say these things over and over, would art a battle th myself. should i stay? should i go? this is probably a crazy idea, i should stay. but, i get on that plane and i make it to paris. and on my first night in paris, i am unpacking all of my clothes and i'm thinking about all my friends and everything i left behind. and i want to be happy, but i feel so sad, and i start crying, a lot.

i can't control my emotions, i can't control my body, i start shaking like crazy, and i start feeling this intense pain on my chest, and i can't breathe. i think i'm having a heart attack. so i pick up the phone and i dial 911. but this is not working. do french people don't have 911? so i run for my life, literally. i go to the neighbor and i ask for help. she calls the paramedics, and when they finally make it here, they say that i'm okay, that i am "just" having a panic attack. the next day, i'm trying to relax, walking in the neighborhood, and looking for a place to eat. and i see this little cafe. people are outside drinking coffee and eating fancy pastries. and i wa that. but immediately, i think, "how am i gonna read the menu?" i won't be able to communicate with the waiter.

this was a bad idea. this whole thing was a crazy idea. and i continue walking until i find a place where i know the menu. i go inside and i eat an egg mcmuffin at the mcdonald's. and yes, i hate mcdonald's with all my heart. but it has the same food, the same smell, even the same furniture layout, like the one in dominican republic. and it's comforting. so i make mcdonald's my preferred and only meal for the next three weeks. and every day in the morning before i leave my little aptment, i make a list of things to do that day. like today, i want to go to the louvre museum and i want to try nutella crepes finally. but instead, i end up at an internet cafe, chatting on messengerwith , hearing about their weekend plans,

and i really want to go there. i really want to be with them. and then i go home and end the day on the phone with my mom, telling her how sad i am, how much i wanna be back. i never call my dad because i do not need to listen, "i told you so." and one day at the internet cafe, i overhear some tourists talk about going to versailles. and i kind of got a little excited, because i've always wanted to go to versailles. but then i think, that is so far. what if i get lost? how am i going to come back? i, i better not. maybe another time. the next day i wake up, and versailles is still in my mind. d i don't ow wh's different about today. maybe it's all of that mcdonald's for three weeks and i really need something different. but i get ready and i get on that train and i make it to versailles, and wow, this is such an amazing experience.

i had never seen such luxurious architecture, and these gardens, oh, wow. like, e trees probably could uch the sky. and i sit on, by one of these fountains, and i, and i stare at the water. it's so peaceful, so calm. and that's how i feel now. it's been so long since i've experienced this. and i'm also feeling so happy, but also really mad at myself. i should have make it here sooner. so i go back to the city and i go directly to that little cafe. i sit down outside overlooking the beautiful eiffel tower. i drink a cafe au lait as i go through the list of things that i want to do in paris and the list of thgs that i want to do in life. and it's been 15 years from that day.

i have traveled all over the world, i have moved six different times from different cities and countries. and every time that i move, i get so nervous, scared. in fact, every time, i've had a panic attack. the diffence now is that i know i can do it. i just have to remind myself and drink that cafe au lait.

(druoll playg) announce at is yo name, pase? my ne is anndagg. my name anne gg. my name anndagg. announr: i, an dagg, aa universi lecturein zoolo