Static’s second issue, First Times in Toronto, is out October 20th. So to celebrate, over the month, you’ll get to know the contributors of the issue through some of their first times in Toronto.

Adriana Rolston is a first time Static writer and a returning illustrator. She is the online editor of 1234V, spending her days writing about cooches and convincing others to write about them too. She’s also trying her hand at freelancing and is a regular contributor to Shameless magazine. A long-time Toronto lover, Adriana can still be found avidly exploring the city in hopes of discovering new haunts and treasures.

First time I felt like Toronto was home was when I started shopping for groceries in Kensington Market and realized that I didn’t look nearly hipster enough. I got over it though.

First favourite neighborhood was Kensington market, back when I was a kid and my dad used to bring my sister and I to visit the big TO. It was bohemian, eclectic and covered in gorgeous graffiti. It was everything that my small, boring hometown was not. I crushed on it hard.

First house was a small basement bedroom near Sheppard and Yonge. I had a tiny window that I once sat a plant beside, but it didn’t survive. As a result I don’t take natural sunlight for granted anymore.

First concert was a free John Mayer show at Dundas square in my first year of university at Ryerson.

First bar/club I went to was called Level. We got there way too early and did some shots. It ended in the traditional way, with a 2 am Mickey D’s run.

First record store was the former Sam The Record Man beside Ryerson. I miss those glowing, flashing discs.

First favorite book was Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende. Incidentally I first began reading this book on a car ride to Toronto to visit the ROM. The museum tour was kind of boring, but the book was good.

First library was when I was still a high schooler and my dad and his partner took me to visit the U of T library. My first impression was that it looked like it was straight out of a Star Wars movie. I still feel that way every time I walk by.

First celebrity sighting was Rachel McAdams, at Nuit Blanche last year. She was wearing a hat and walking near Trinity Bellwoods Park. It was probably her.

First kiss was beside Ryerson’s faux pond, Lake Devo.

First heartbreak was in Ryerson’s faux pond, Lake Devo (not really, but it sounds dramatic, in a mad Ophelia kind of way).

First time I went to the islands was with my aunt when she worked for a company that held a summer picnic there, complete with dragon boat racing. I rode the swan boats in Centreville and was more than satisfied.

First time I got lost was probably in the PATH. I used to follow young people wearing backpacks in hopes that I would make it out alive and get back to the surface.

If I had a last day in Toronto, I would gorge on sushi in Chinatown, fly a kite along the beaches, and ride across the islands on a multi-rider bike with a companion-in-mischief, spewing streamers, bubbles and profanity in our wake.