Tumbleweed

“ BEING A NERD anywhere comes with social risks. Being a nerd in the hood comes with even more. When the future is unimaginable, studiousness tends to be mocked, the willingness to delay gratification too often derided as a sucker’s bet. At Jordan, status is found in gang allegiance, musical proclivity, sports affiliation, dance-floor finesse, and sexual maturity. Boys project hardness: shaved heads, thick chains, oversize clothes. Girls entice: dyed braids, pierced noses, curve-hugging clothes. Everyone is casting about for an antidote to despair, a look, a talk, a walk, some outward sign that Watts has not beaten them down. ” - May 2007 - The Test of Their Lives - los Angeles magazine