Humans of Saint Augustine

Siblings Anita, 36 and Renato 32, sit at a local coffee shop in St. Augustine, Fla. on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. "We're brother and sister and we're from Albania. We live in Jacksonville and we've lived there for most of our lives. We all came here together as a family, I was 11 and he was 7. Our dad initially came first. The country was in communist rule and then once the dictator died, everything started opening up again. Our dad was a refugee, he emigrated out into the US. He was here for about two years, I think. And then eventually he got us...because, with all the turmoil, with everything that ended up happening, there were still some people on the side of the dictatorship, so there was a civil war that happened."

"We left during like the hustle time when there was a civil war almost about to go on. So we were kind of like refugees at the time. Everything collapsed. So there was no structure, no government, no order. But now like it's picking itself back up. That's how I remember it," Renato said.

"I've been back a few times. The last time I was there, it was right before COVID hit in 2019. So about three years ago. Now it's getting a lot of tourists too because it's still fairly cheap. I'd actually prefer to go there and see myself and live there for like a month just to see it. Now that I'm older to see what it's like, because when we left, I was very young."

"I actually work in logistics, but I've been on a career break for the past two years. I'm currently going back, so just now in the process of looking for a new position. I got a little bit burned out of work. So I did take a break. And I've been working really nonstop, even when I was in college full time".

"Most important for me is building strong, deep relationships with others...having a very peaceful environment of where I live and just being part of the community and feeling like I belong."

"I was there in 2018 [Albania], traveling through the mountains, the valleys. It's beautiful. You see a lot of castles and like old Roman stops. Tirana is very vibrant. It's an international city, so you see people from all over different countries. A lot of outsiders go there now".

"Right now, I'm finishing up my bachelor's degree in finance. I'm a senior. So like, I have about five classes left. And I'm applying for a lot of banking jobs".

"I think the most important for me is financial freedom, personal growth, personal development...after that, travel the world internationally".

Elizabeth, 19, stands near Castillo de San Marcos National Monument in St. Augustine, Fla., on Tuesday, Oct 11, 2022. "I love surfing and going to the beach. That's kind of what drives my life, I would say, I really like exploring, I've been enjoying living in St. Augustine," said Elizabeth, who is from Virginia Beach, Va. "I really like walking along the river here and going to some of the other...natural, or like national landmarks here. Also, I do like traveling to other places in America".

"I would say my family and my friends and other people are really important to me. I'm also a Christian, so God is really important to me, my relationship with him. I also think being outside in nature, and focusing on the positive is really important as well," said Elizabeth when asked about the important things in her life.

"I'm not that well traveled yet. So that's kind of like one of my goals in life. But I've been to like, you know, like a lot of different states on the east coast. And then I also went to a few places in California last year that I really liked. I got to rock climb in Joshua Tree National Park. Then I got to surf in Malibu...I like longboarding, so that's like a longboarder's dream...But I would like to go more like international and go over to Europe...and South America and pretty much everywhere that I can. I'm hoping to do more of that this summer with some programs where you can work for someone anywhere in the world and then you exchange for like food and a place to stay".

Grace, 20, stands behind the counter at her job, a coffee shop along St. George street in St. Augustine, Fla. "I'm originally from Maryland..my friend goes to Flagler and she needed a roommate over the summer, I guess literally a year ago. I was just graduating high school...so I stayed in this place with her and then I fell in love with the town...the beach and like just being lazy and not my hometown...I don't see myself in St. Augustine for a long time. I see myself as staying here for at least a couple more years. But long term down the road I don't think this is where I want to raise a family, raise my kids get married this, that and the other. I just don't think I'm destined for just one move and then be okay with it. I think I want to make a few more stops and then settle down".

"Some dude came in and he was like, "Yeah, I'm just stopping here. And then I'm on the road down to Miami." Because his dad had passed in like the last year and so he had moved recently to go and help him in his last year and he was telling me that it's just been really hard. So he's trying to travel and like, spread his ashes, all across, the East Coast, essentially. I was kind of like, it was normal for here, but then I want to take a second to think about this, it's something serious what he's going through like, this is somebody's parent who has passed and they are on this journey of like, I don't know like this afterlife, I guess...more so in the slow season, people have time to stop and share," said Grace about customers and their stories.

"Math teachers suck, dude. Because my teacher was so bad, she sent me on this course of moving to St. Augustine and that's a whole domino effect. This is only like, pre-calc right? So, I'm trying my best, I'm doing good, but I am going through it. I've got my own, family life happening at home. I've got my friend group that's happening at school, and it's like, a lot of drama, obviously, because it's high school, and you're always going through the motions. But she would single me out and kind of like put me on the spot, like around my peers especially. So it just made math that much more difficult. Even when I would go in for tutoring, it was not explained well. So I never actually learned and I never got past pre-calc in high school. Then the pandemic hit and I didn't know how to do pre-calc. So I felt like I couldn't do anything right because it was such a math oriented area that I was living in. It was like, very stem oriented, very math oriented. Like if you're not doing, like the highest level of maths in high school, then you're you're dumb, you're not smart. During quarantine I was really depressed, and I couldn't get out of bed. I was just like stuck in the house, essentially, because of quarantine...so my grades slipped. They put me in different courses to accommodate for what I was going through. It was really hard...it was a full year, I lost my friends....I didn't feel like myself anymore. I barely scraped by passing, I think I finally finished all of my high school requirements, like two days before I walked across the stage...I feel like that domino effect of hurt, screwing me in my math life and ruining my mental image of myself, I guess kind of sent me to St. Augustine...you know, to rebuild it and it's simple".

"Life is so fucked up and you just need a room of people where you can have a little hehe and a little haha with...I mean, it's one of the reasons I moved here. I had a really bad friend group back up, where... I didn't feel wanted there. So I moved here where people were like, no, come here, like, we want you here..."

"Just write it down. Whatever you're going through, read it out. Just try and get whatever feeling you're feeling onto paper. Because you're gonna want to look back and you're gonna want to be like, what was happening when I was like 15,16 or whatever. Maybe that's me just being nosy about my own personal life and trying to remember what was going on. But it's like, the more you write it down, the more you're going to understand what you're going through because you can actually say something into words. Instead of just feeling them. You can explain it to other people when you're also feeling...difficult emotions. Like when it's hard to explain how you're feeling you can at least write it down," said Grace on the advice she would give to her younger self.

"I think I might try and do something out west, get a big girl job. You know, do something corporate? I don't know. I would love a nine to five. Oh my gosh, a little cubicle. But I mean, just being closer to family like on both sides, you know? I'm trying to go for school for like a STEM degree...biology, which is really hard in this area. Because Flagler is just a liberal arts college and that's like the only university besides anywhere outside of St. Augustine, which is why it's hard. But definitely, something in like a lab like a nine to five, you just kind of like type-in numbers. You talk to people, whatever. I don't know. Maybe there's a nine to five for some STEM degree. You never know."