Personal Essay: Why I Live In San Fernando Valley

Moving here from Los Angeles was one of the better things that’s happened to me in my life. I know, that’s a hard sentence to swallow even for me. Being on that plane, looking down at the city I called home for so long didn’t phase me one bit, nothing did. “Do you miss it?”, there was no real straight answer to that question nor will there ever be. I always answer “Yeah it's different here, but I mainly miss my friends”. Los Angeles always had a place in me, those breezy summer nights at the beach, the sunny days that never acknowledged winter was even a season and never needing to wear anything but a t-shirt and shorts. It’s not that I want to forget all about it or that I can’t. Los Angeles was always something more than just a city with

It was April of 1999. My family was at home. Children were running outside. The asphalt was burning. Cars rolled up to the entrance of the apartments and BANG. I grew up in Stockton, California. Surprisingly, as a minority, I wasn’t really a minority. There were, in fact, a large and diverse population of Asian-Americans. But, Stockton is not the ideal place to live. It was hot and dry, almost to the point of a drought. Stockton was also ranked as the one of the top 5 most dangerous cities in California. So, having a nice and safe family is kind of difficult. Eventually, my family decided to move to Crescent City, California when my dad retired. It was a world of difference. There were trees, plentiful water, and a nice cool temperature. This

Growing up in San Francisco was not easy. My life has been a up hill battle. I’vealways been a free spirited person. Always loved sometimes loved the wrong people. I grew up in San Francisco. Most people think of San Francisco as this wonderful free love place. Well it’s not this wonderful free love place. Fillmore is what my neighborhood was called. This Fillmore place was a very dark violent place. Many don’t make it out. Either you die young, or you go out on drugs. I always wanted more out of life. I always felt that if I could escape this dark unkind place I would be a better person. Sometimes as a child I would dream of living in a real family setting. You know a father that lived with my mother and I. “A real family not a dysfunctional one”. School has always been a outlet for me. I could go to school and learn, learn, learn. I’ve always been

San Diego and from there to Chandler arizona. My aunt and uncle drove down from

During the summer of 7th grade my mom and I went on a trip to san Francisco that showed me how real untreated mental health issues, homelessness, and drugs are. I always knew that bad communities existed and they’re not safe but I never knew what they really looked like. That was until my mom and I accidentally walked through the tenderloin. The Tenderloin is one of the most infamous parts of San Francisco. The whole city of San Francisco is a crazy and beautiful place that I learned how many people suffer from drugs, crime, poverty and homelessness.

It was a rainy day with grey clouds filling the sky when my mom told me, "We are going to move to Fresno." Those few words shocked me for days, I did not think we were going to ever to move again. I had grown attached to everything in my life in Los Angeles. I was going to have to step out of my comfort zone and get accustomed to new surroundings.

Every time we move it’s as if we gain or lose something.I remember moving a lot.Before our move to Davis we lived in a house an actual place we called home it had a joyful pool it was near Sherwood a well known elementary school.Before that was a apartment near Somerset Middle School that was quite cramped.There’s six of us now which means we’ve moved about six times as well.

Childhood is something that every human must go through in life. It is filled with similar milestones like your first birthday, first game, and things very similar to that, yet, everyone’s childhood varies, causing there to be differences in personality, paths we take and even how we view the world. The biggest influence in my life would definitely be where I grew up. I moved to three different places that were completely different from one another. I believe that each of these places have contributed toward the person I ended up growing into.

Although you probably never heard of him, he did have that moment. A moment of fame, of possibilities, so I’ll change his name to protect him. I’ll change his name and cloud his identity to protect him, though, the only protection he really needs is from himself... especially the words that vomit from his mouth.

Over break my sisters and I went to Santa Cruz. We had rented a small house by the beach and spent much of our time just hanging out together watching movies on the couch. Every night we would turn on the electric fire. There was only one bedroom and the couch turned into a bed so I went and laid down by the fire, my water glass in hand. It was cold outside and the fire was just the right temperature. I laid there with a pillow, my back to the fire as I read a book on kindle and listened to music. After a while the heat from the fire become a bit stifling. I stayed there anyways because I was too tired to get up. Instead of moving away I decided to just have some of my water. It was after I had ended up drinking the whole glass that a perfect

Although the beautiful winters in Rochester already make the university cool, I, as a student, can make the school even cooler by being an active member in organizations and introducing Bay Area culture into the campus. I have lived most of my life in the Bay Area, during this time I have grown accustomed to the cultures from here. I plan to introduce the cultures and customs that originate in the Bay Area. Since they aren’t known over the country, these cultures only occur in the Bay Area. For example, the hyphy culture began to emerge in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a response from Bay Area rappers against commercial hip hop. However, this culture and movement wasn’t popularized anywhere else in the country. Consequently, this urban

I grew up in South Pomona; CA. Poverty is the social norm. Popular streets like Garey Avenue and Mission Boulevard are our very own skid row with tents lining sidewalks. Homeless people reside in parks while gangsters tag buildings with graffiti or sell drugs out in the open. When we visit these public places, we take precaution in order to avoid assaults.

I live in San Diego. My major is interior design and I am attending San Diego Miramar College I also have some courses in Mesa College. I am taking Political Science 102 to fulfill my general education. Moreover, I am married and have two children and English is my second language so I am nervous about understanding the material of this course, but I try to do my best. I have never protested or have attended any protests. To create a sign defending I would like to say “peaceful life for

I have been travelling with these two idiots. I am not sure what or where we are going, but they keep talking about going to different states and cities. What are they seeking? I am not even sure. Wait, what about myself? What do I want in my life and with who? Why am I travelling with this dumb, irresponsible, and uncaring man, Dean? And, with his hapless friend Sal, who is just fluttering through this road they travel on. What is my road? Who do I want to be? With? Should I still keep loving Dean? I have never really said much, but this road that I am currently traveling on helps me think about my life. Hopefully, I may find my answer to all these questions.

I hope you had a nice weekend. Will you happen to be in San Francisco on Tuesday, September 1 in the afternoon? Both Chris and Tracy would love to catch up. If not, we are more than happy to setup a call to go over the Energy and Real Assets Space. When you have a moment, please let us know.