Tymara Ware has a unique perspective of the world. The 16-year-old student took part in Model D's Voices of Youth program and worked with professional photographer Val Waller to create the photo essay featured above, sharing her view of a corner of her world. 

Tymara Ware. Photo by Val Waller.

Artist's statement:

I grew up in a non-traditional home, my mom is really my auntie. My education started in the suburbs of Detroit. As a single mom of three kids who were not hers, she thought it was best to find us a better school system. I moved back to the City of Detroit in my seventh-grade year. It was a huge culture shock for me and an eye-opening experience. This is where my love for my community and city began. I remember asking my grandmother all about Detroit when she was young and comparing it to now.

I am currently going to Westfield Preparatory High School in the 10th grade. I am an honor roll student. My personality is funny, energetic, friendly, and bubbly. I like to play sports, hang out with family, do art, journaling, dance, and make an impact in my community. I am currently the president of the Youth Council. I am also the youth member of the advisory committee of District 7 under the City Councilman, Fred Durhal, Jr. I am the youth voice for District 7. I want to see peace come back to the community. I want more help for the homeless. I want to see young people have an opinion and take part in the community we live in. When I get older I want to become a politician, artist, athlete, and pastry/executive chef too. 

I chose photography with the Voices of Youth because I have always wanted to do photography and I always looked at different pictures and wanted to make something like the ones I have seen. My mom says I have always stopped and said, “that would be a pretty picture”. The VOY program gave me the opportunity to learn how. I learned a lot from Val. She taught me how to angle the camera, how to capture life in photographs, and how to take a picture in a decent background too. 

One of my greatest accomplishments thus far is the wellness room, because the youth need a space to unwind. The Cody Rouge Youth Council along with myself started a room for people ages 13 to 20 years old. The Cody Calm Center (or C3) is a wellness room designated for teens to have a space to relax, recenter and realign their minds.

The Cody Calm Center is important because when COVID-19 hit Michigan, everything got shut down and teens had no place to socialize with each other or just get away from stressors at home. That’s when the Youth Council created a space for teens to relax and build new positive relationships and gain knowledge that would strengthen their community.