[Record crackling]
[Lee] What’s your name?
[Jasmine] Jasmine.
[Jasmine] Jasmine, this is yours.
[Jasmine] What’s you’re name?
[Lee] Lee.
[Jasmine] Lynn?
[Lee] Lee.
[subway clicking] [dramatic violin music]
[Lee Voiceover] Sometimes, when people say, like,
Oh, I love your hat, what’s that all about?
I don’t wanna say anything, you know?
But the rule reminds me that I gotta do it,
And more than enough times, I actually am glad I had a rule.
So number one is I create something new every day.
Number two, I wear it from nine to five,
because idea is to make me uncomfortable.
And then number three,
if somebody questions,
or if somebody says, like, Hey, what’s that all about?
Then I have to engage in a conversation,
tell them what it’s all about.
And then as I close that conversation,
I have to ask What’s your name?
‘Cause until you actually ask the name,
that person does not exist in your world.
But, so, it has became a social experiment for me,
Like, can I make a relationship?
Can I make a connection with the people
that I don’t have any agenda?
Can I just make a friends
with somebody who’s curious about your hat?
If you want to come in, you have to come now. OK?
[Hannah making indistinct noises]
So you can sit down.
Well, should I start with my name?
Well, I’m Lee.
So I have changing my career path,
about five years ago.
Transition from engineering to design thinking.
And my friend, Tracy,
is the one who introduced me to it.
Design thinking, to me,
is a tool or a mindset to allow you to see the world
through a different perspective.
I don’t think I have ever met a professor like Tracy before.
Right now, she’s working on opioid crisis in Ohio.
And one thing that really inspires me
about Tracy is she cares,
but she actually cares enough to do something.
And this whole thing began as a strange thing.
Well, Saturday morning, and I was going to a workshop
in Dumbo and I now live in the Bronx.
I was going to the subway,
and I got a Facebook notification
reminding me that it was Tracy’s birthday.
I have forgotten birthdays many times.
My husband’s birthday, I have forgotten many times.
And, but for some reason
this particular instance really bothered me.
And so I looked around and there was a dollar store.
So I went in
and there was pipe cleaners.
So I took a packet of pipe cleaners,
and I made a tiny birthday crown,
compared to this, it was tiny,
and I wore it and I took a selfie and I sent it to Tracy
just saying, Happy birthday, Tracy!
She was like, Oh my God.
I love your birthday crown.
And I decided to wear it throughout the day.
For the whole day,
I felt like everybody was looking at me.
And then I thought,
How many times do I do that?
How many times do I look at somebody,
and make a judgment based on my experience.
And that’s when I kind of thought,
Huh, maybe I should do a project.
I’m gonna do a one-year project.
Every day, I’m going to make something new.
[Hannah] Wearable Tracy.
[Lee] Do you know Tracy?
Do you like it?
[Hannah] Yes.
Do you wanna take it off?
No. No? [laughs]
[cheerful music]
No matter what, when I get on the train
I have to start making things.
I make a decision whether I’m gonna make a mask or a crown.
Usually the shapes, like in whether it’s a cat
or things comes after.
All right. [laughs]
[subway clicking]
It takes about 45 minutes to make one.
But no matter what,
at nine o’clock when I get out,
I just start wearing it.
From time to time, I will hear people saying it out loud,
What’s that?
People will say that out loud.
It hurts.
There was a point
that
I became,
from fearful of what people will judge me,
to expecting something new will happen.
I have given away more than 300 hats.
It’s just hat to me,
but it’s so much more to others.
So I think it was like day 50, day 60, around that time,
I had an idea of creating something with aliens.
You know, I don’t know why.
But I want is like, I want to put two antenna
that is going to send signal to the universe.
And the person came to me and says,
What is that hat?
And so I told her,
Oh, I make this every day,
and this one has a name.
And it’s name is ‘I’m putting myself out there
to collect lost souls and I’m sending a signal.’
Do you want it?
And she was like, No, no. I cannot possibly have it.
I said, No, no. You can have it after five,
I give this to people.
So she was like,
You have no idea about this means to me.
I am so glad that you’re giving this to me,
because my cousin committed suicide several weeks ago,
and to me it’s a,
it’s a signal that his soul has been collected.
So I think that people give meanings to things, right?
And
that encounter made me to think about
what you do will give comfort to someone
who is looking for answers.
And 364.
Day 364, I think I was sitting here
like this with my husband,
and I think he was really happy
that the next day is gonna be the end of this craziness.
That’s when Hannah said, Why, are you gonna stop?
And she got really upset.
And she was like, No, you cannot stop.
And I realized that although it was an embarrassment
to others who
look at me, How adults could do things like this?
It was actually a pride for her.
And so I asked,
and I like, Mommy’s challenge is done.
So if you want me to continue
then you and I have to collaborate.
And she was like, What do you want me to do?
So I said, Well, I want you to be my inspiration.
And she said, Well, what is an inspiration?
You draw every day.
So if you draw a story,
then mommy will take a look at it
and I’ll make a things based on what you draw.
[lighthearted inspiring music]
[Hannah] Cat. Bird. Cat. Bird.
[Hannah] Unicorn.
[Lee] Mermaids. Mermaids.
[Hannah] Horses.
[Lee] Horses.
[Hannah] And a snail. [Lee chuckles]
I just make it up.
[Lee] I love the fact
that we can create something together.
We don’t spend that much time.
So having something that we both can say,
This is us. This is ours.
It looks nice. Yeah.
It has evolved into something that I never expected.
I didn’t expect it to give me so much stories,
or connections, or things to reflect on.
I learned so much
and now people ask me, like
So when are you going to stop?
And I say, Well, I hope that day never come
Because, in the beginning it was for her, right?
To remember her birthday.
But as it was transitioning to something very different,
it was about making connections
with another person, complete stranger.
She told me once, somebody asked her like,
How do you feel about that?
And she said, I don’t think it’s about me anymore.
I think it’s about
humanities.
It’s lot more about what we can do,
as just regular human being,
is being curious, being open.
The fear of judgment
turned into Who am I gonna meet today?
[subway chime]
[subway clicking ]
[Juan] Great hat.
[Lee] What’s your name?
[Juan] Juan.
[Lee] Juan?
[Juan] Yours?
[Lee] Lee.
[train clicking]
[lighthearted music]
I stopped making Wearable Tracy’s.
Last time I made one was March 10th
and that was a last time I went in to work.
And ever since I start working from home,
I stopped making Wearable Tracy’s.
Hannah asked me,
Hey mom, how come you’re not making
any more Wearable Tracy’s?
You know, I still draw.
I still draw every day.
So you should make Wearable Tracy everyday.
So
on April 3rd,
I made one before my first virtual meeting
and I wore it.
And a strange thing happened.
I got on the call and people will dial in.
And my colleague, he saw me with my Wearable Tracy
and he just start laughing.
And he said,
You know, there still is some joy in this world.
And then the following Monday,
I made another one and I got on the call
with my other colleague.
And she also said similar things
that seeing me wearing Wearable Tracy just makes her happy.
We all want to see something
that was before COVID.
That we could just to go out,
meet people and laugh at silly jokes and silly things
that you see on the street.
And somehow seeing me,
although it was virtual,
made them to feel a sense of normalcy.
After COVID-19 what changed,
I’m realizing that whether it’s virtual or in person,
this crave for some sense of
connection,
some sense of joy
is still there.
And I’ll try my best to continue making one
until I have to where, I have to order some more.
‘Cause I’m running out of pipe cleaners now.
But, yeah.
So things are different
but certain things are still the same.
[lighthearted inspiring music]
