Personal Narrative: My Journey To California

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

Many people believe that Orange County, California is the best place to live for its great location, community and economic strong hold. But what those people forget to take into account is the people that make up this community. Living in Mission Viejo, an overwhelming amount of people think that this a place of Eden, that has the greatest neighborhoods to raise children. Well they are wrong. Our self-inflicting wounds are done by teenagers who choose to poison themselves. I was once one of them.

Hwy. 395, past a marker grandma green church of my childhood. Our post Ironman week was less than typical. Hence, we are home turning over flagging remnants of overgrown August herbs, a plethora of scarlet blistering shishito peppers, and multi colored bells, discovering another garden dinner in the doing. My mother often made stuffed bell peppers which began with blanched, whole peppers full of ground beef, bread crumbs, bacon, and raw Minute Rice which magically cooked the tiny white bits as they bathed in bubbling stewed tomatoes topped with American cheese. Sixty years later, my sister and I reminiscence about those delicious packages of meatloaf and buttery new

Oakland, California, the city that people consider as one of the top five most dangerous cities in the United States. Growing up in the city next to it and having family there, I developed strong bonds to Oakland. I have always seen Oakland in the light for being outrageously diverse and being resilient. My first thoughts of Oakland never consisted of them of the city being dangerous or a bad place to live in. I knew that Oakland is dangerous but I have never experienced anything that made my outlook change. Despite a handful of my family living there and have experienced muggings, robbery and dealing of drugs, I still could not take in how unsafe Oakland is. However, just one incident changed my view of this city, 18 years of my life Oakland

I'm an established freelance writer based in San Diego covering environmental issues in the Southland and beyond. Although it's hard for me to

If you are looking for a job in Santa Barbara, the Historic Presidio on Canon Perdido street has 10 new job openings. Following the retirement of Dr. Jarrell Jackman on December 31st of 2015, 10 more people have either been fired or “jumped ship” from this historic State Park. One SBTHP anonymous insider explains, “They have 10 of 22 positions open. Even if they hired for these positions tomorrow, they'd have 16 staff members who were hired in the last year.” With this many people fleeing El Presidio Santa Barbara one might ask themselves if these positions (Director of Advancement, Santa Ines Mills State Historic Park Agricultural and Maintenance Supervisor, Facility Rental Coordinator, Maintenance Assistant, Event Attendant, Director of

Throughout my short life in Southern California, I have encountered a multitude of different natural disasters, strange weather patterns and a shift in climate. There have been three distinct phases of my life in which the occurrence of all of these can be found.

My father is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force. Because of this, he receives a variety of assignments, causing me and the rest of my family to have to move homes often. Most recently was the summer of 2015, when my family moved from Edwards Air Force Base, which is about an hour northeast of Los Angeles, to Rancho Bernardo, near San Diego. This was not the first time that my family has moved, so I was familiar with the typical challenges of moving, like finding new friends and getting involved in the new community. However, the transition to Rancho Bernardo was not as simple. Not only did I have to make new friend and insert myself into a new community, but I was also unprepared for the difference in academic rigor at Rancho

Traveling two thousand two hundred miles seemed like a stretch to many, but not to me. One brisk morning I jumped off the catamaran and ventured onto the most mesmerizing place I had ever encountered in my fifteen years of life. It was spring, two thousand and fourteen when I came to know Catalina Island, California. Everything seemed like it was in slow motion coming ashore. It isn’t enough for me to say I just saw Catalina Island, I felt everything that it had to offer. As I crossed over the pier I looked down and saw a school of fish fifteen feet below the crystal clear surface. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. They were rich in color and exuberant in their movement. I could imagine how unconsciously free

Waking up at midnight on a cloudy monday night, I walked outside and looked at the moon. Look at how far I have come. Living in hillbilly hick Iowa, to traveling all over the world. Listening to my mother has been one of the greatest things I have ever done. Without her I would have stayed in Iowa and probably married a ugly overweight farmer. Graduating from highschool I decided that I was going to go straight to college and get my masters in Biological Anthropology. Since I already had 20 credits completed at Iowa Central, I decided to stay for one more year. The money I would save would go into my traveling “fund”. Planning on living with my mother still, to me was not a bad decision. She fed me, clothed me, and loved me even though I can

When I was in the 12th grade I got the opportunity of a life time to go all the way to San Diego California with my FCCLA student organization. Coming all the way from hot a humid city filled Atlanta Ga, to beautiful sunny, beach covered California sounded like a dream.

I was born on April 24, 1994, in Los Angeles, California to Patricia Andrade and Francisco Javier Garcia. My father was an immigrant from Mexico, and mother was Mexican-American born in South Los Angeles. I was the first born in my family. I grew up in the small city of Walnut Park. Walnut Park is located near South Gate and Huntington Park. The demographics of the city were and still are predominantly Hispanic/Latino. Many of the residents were newly emigrated from various parts of Latin American, mainly from Mexico. I was brought up Catholic, which was the dominate religion in the area. I was brought up talking English and Spanish. I grew up in an environment that was rich in Mexican heritage but lacked diversity.

It's been so incredible these last couple weeks seeing how God has provided even more of my tuition. It's encouraging to see the kind of support through prayer and finances that I will have while I am living in Los Angeles. I am psyched as I am only two days away from moving into my dorm at the Dream Center. Thursday the 8th of September my family and I will be driving down to LA and then Friday the 9th I will begin to move into my new home. I am so excited to unpack and create a cozy little dorm for my roommate and myself. Just a week or two ago found out who my roommate is going to be. His name is Alec and he lives in North Carolina. We have been in contact and we are both so excited to be rooming together. It is very interesting how God

Imagine laying on a private beach right now in California. You’re sitting in a comfortable lawn chair with a front-row seat to the Pacific Ocean. You have waiters bringing you any kind of drink or food you want, and the sun is making you golden tan. Now, imagine the thrill you get while being on a roller coaster. The sun is beating down on you while you’re standing in line, but the wait for the exhilarating roller coaster is worth it. I got to experience all of this and more on my trip to Los Angeles, California. I went on this trip the week of my birthday, which is July 31, with my parents and my two sisters. My second trip to California was an unforgettable experience that was important due to all of the locations I got to visit, all of the knowledge I now have from this trip, and all of the memories I made with my family.

California, the golden state is usually described as the sunshine state, has everything one would want from the beautiful sunsets on the beach to the amazing mountains full of snow. The state is one of the largest in the country, which means there is an abundance of space that allows a person to roam around the different areas within the state. It is also well known for the plethora of cultures that makes the state very unique and diverse. It is the home of Hollywood and all its movie stars with the warm, sunny weather that can 't be beat. When someone sees California on a map, one may not see the differences between lives in Southern California versus lives in Northern California; but despite the fact that it is one state, they are distinctively different from their environment, lifestyle, and linguistics. Nonetheless, they have elements that they share and bring the state together to be a beautiful place to enjoy.