A: Brian Belknap, a one man band musician, laughs as Martin, 5, asks about his gold dental crown. Belknap said that interactions like these are the reason he loves playing on the streets. “That won’t happen in a nightclub,” he said.

Essay: When streets emptied as the pandemic began, those who expressed themselves among the crowds passing by no longer had the audience, customers or friends they once did. Some adapted, while others halted what they love. But while the streets died, dreams didn’t. Now, as the streets of San Francisco come alive again, individuals are embracing life as it was pre-pandemic, finding joy in the ability to take back their dreams and express their inner selves. The California Dream is different for everyone. But the streets, bustling once again, are one common factor bringing people together.

A: Brian Belknap simultaneously plays a harmonica and a guitar while performing for people passing by at Ferry Plaza. Belknap says there’s so much love on the streets, something he’s enjoyed seeing return after it disappeared in the height of the pandemic.

A: Shepard Peterson, 15, shoots a basketball while playing with his friend, Joshua, 14, at a park on Laguna Street. Joshua isolated himself from the public during the height of the pandemic to avoid becoming sick. Now, Joshua and Peterson are thankful for the opportunity to express themselves out in their community.

A: Bikers ride along San Francisco Bay Trail during a SE Bikes Rideout, an event where hundreds of bikers from around the country gather to bike through the streets together. Rideout events are held in cities across the world.

A: Cash Gonzales, 13, does a wheelie on his bike during a gathering at a park along Beach Street near Ghirardelli Square. While Gonzales’ dream is to play basketball in the NBA, he enjoys riding his bike as a way to take his mind off everything else. During the height of the pandemic, he took a break from biking. Now, he says it is “fun and exciting” to bike with others.

A: Cosmo, a street artist who has done over 200,000 caricature drawings since he started in 1980, colors in a drawing for a customer using chalk pastels. Fifty years ago, he had dreams of selling fine art in galleries. Now, at 75 years old, he’s focused on surviving. Working on the streets, he says he is treated like royalty by some people and treated like crap by others.

A: Clement Street comes alive as San Franciscans attend a farmers market on a sunny Sunday afternoon. This weekly market allows business owners to connect with their community and attain dreams they have for their business.

A: Ben Bernthal uses his typewriter to create poetry while set up at Clement Street Farmers Market. Berthal started Strangers’ Poems Project five years ago, where he sits on a street or in a park and invites people to share words in exchange for a poem. He finds that by writing poems for strangers, he’s not just expressing their story, but also his own. He is living his dream, he said, by making art for a living and feeling the sun on his skin.

A: Juan Miren sells a pair of handmade earrings to customers on a busy day on Jefferson Street at Fisherman’s Wharf. Miren said being a street vendor allows him to express himself and live the way he likes to live. This became painfully difficult during the pandemic, he said.

A: Juan Miren uses a pair of pliers to twist wire while creating a bracelet. Miren learned to make jewelry from people on the streets, and he says he feels an obligation to give back to the streets by teaching others.

A: People travel up an escalator and down a flight of stairs at the Montgomery Street subway station. Beneath the streets, the subway connects people across the San Francisco area.

A: Brian Belknap crosses Bosworth Street after taking the subway home from a long morning of playing music at Ferry Plaza. Although he enjoys the streets of San Francisco, he dreams of returning to his home in New Orleans to play music on Bourbon Street.