Personal Narrative: Phoenix Vs. Southern California

After being dropped off from dance late at night, I was expecting to walk into a silent house where everyone was asleep. Instead, I walked into my living room to find the rest of my family sitting on the couch with the television off, which was strange for my family. It was clear they were waiting for me to get home, so I sat down too. My mom and dad exchanged a look and a sigh then turned back towards my brother and me. They babbled absently for a few minutes, then, my mom quickly spit out the words, as if ripping off a Band-Aid, "We are moving back to Arizona." There was a brief moment of stunned silence before I burst into tears. I could not imagine why my parents would decide to separate me from my best friends six months before we were supposed to

I walked silently, my converse crunching on the wet sidewalk. I zipped up my jacket and took a sip of my coffee. I slowly walked towards my school when someone's shoulder slammed in to me. My coffee flew out of my hands, the lid came of as it hit the ground, spilling all over the sidewalk. I stumbled as I tried to regain my balance. I hate this small town I thought to myself. When I returned home I arrived to both of my parents sitting at the table. I looked at them with a confused look, “Ava why don't you take a seat,” Father said “we have something to tell you.” I took a seat not saying a word just giving them a confused look. “Ava honey your father got a promotion,” Mother stated “and we are going to be moving to California!” Fireworks were going off in my head thinking of all of the new things I would get to experience.

In George J. Sanchez’s, Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles 1900-1945, Sanchez brings forth a new understanding of Mexican-American culture through the presentation of how the culture made substantial adaptations under limited economic and social mobility (Sanchez 13). Unlike other historians who studies the variations of Mexican American cultural identity from a national prospective , Sanchez creatively selects Los Angeles as his site of research because, not only is the city home to the largest Mexican population in the United States, but also because Latinos play a profound role in shaping the city’s culture. Growing up in an immigrant family himself, Sanchez undoubtedly has many personal

While today Los Angeles is prided on being one of the most diverse cities in the United States, there was (and still is) a tremendous amount of resistance that had to be overcome. Society’s inclination to maintain homogeneity along with the testing of loyalties and allegiance through pressures of war have proven great obstacles in the evolution of what is now a majority-minority city. Nina Revoyr’s Southland gives a historic fictional recount of Los Angeles’ most tested times from perspectives looking in to the past, present, and future. The discovery of unpleasant truths through grave social injustices provide a painful reminder of Los Angeles’ history and consequently a warning for future setbacks. Southland is an emotional testament to the inescapability of discrimination within stratified cities and the unspoken necessity of assimilation that occurs as a result.

I turned and Chad was standing there. Chad said “I warned you, you cotton piker.” I naturally backed off because it was not worth fighting about. From that point on everyone considered me the “Wimp who can not stand up for himself.” For the rest of the year my life was a living hell. The only time anyone talked to me is when someone would make a racist comment. Half way through the soccer season I had to quit because I was treated like an outcast from my fellow members and the coach. Later on the year a kid named Matt Flyn made a racial comment. I was in such a bad mood so I punched him in the face. The fight was broken up right away, and we were both sent to the principal ‘s office. When we got there, I was the one that was punished and Matt was left off with no punishment. I found out later that week that the principal was racist against Hispanics. I had no idea what to do, so I just left it and told no one Both my parents and the school guidance counselor noticed that I was having some problems. I refused to tell anyone what was matter with me, and told everyone to just leave me alone. That was first time I felt worthless thing in the world. Just because I dated a white girl, and because I was Mexican they demoralized to me. About month a later, I looked at everyone that picked on me. I noticed that the kids. I went to school with were never taught what discrimination can do to someone, mentally and physically. In the world today, there are a variety of

I was nine years old when I moved to California from Japan, all the way across the world. Moving to California was quite possibly the weirdest experience that has happened to me as a child. Trying to move from a place that I pretty much spent my life in than literally going across the world without knowing anything about it was very foreign to me, however my parents used to live in california for about one or two decades.

When George came home from work he told me that he had some really good news. Now, I don't know if I would call it good news, but he said that our family needs to move to Oregon. At first I was in such shock because Iowa is such a good place for our family, but a change is always good. The government is giving all males over the age of sixteen 640 acres of free farmland. That is more land then we have right now, and the land won’t be as crowded as the land here in Iowa.

I moved to Arizona from Boston in 2014. We have moved around before, but this was different. We were going across the country. I was sad to leave everything I knew behind for someplace I didn’t really know about. We moved in July, and as August came closer and closer, I got more nervous. Would I sit alone at lunch? Would I like my teachers? As any 6th grader would be before the first day of school, I was scared and a bit nervous. I was pretty shy, always hiding myself in books. So I was relieved to find that we wouldn’t have to find our classes alone on the first day. I was dreading lunch, but I put it out of my mind. That day, in fact, I met one of my best friends. I managed to survive my first day of middle school. And the next. And the next. I even got good grades in math! I sometimes struggle, and did previously, in math.

Relocating from Florida back to Arizona was quite the journey. We went through terrible weather changes and and other dreadful like things on the trip. On the day we took off to board the greyhound we found out that the train had been experiencing some difficulties performing like the rest of them, but we had been told that the problems were fixed and that we shouldn't be worried. So we trusted in this man and what he had told us and i see now that was a big mistake, so we boarded the train took off our bags and we were all excited and could'nt wait to get back to see granny the rest of the family. Finally the train took off and the journey began I took a seat and felt relieved and calm but at the same time I felt uneasy and i just couldn't

I hope you will remember when we met in California, I was visiting Becky Palacios in Glendale. I heard Jackie Porter is working at the Texas Education Agency, recently named the Early Childhood Executive Director. I applied at TEA, hoping for the manager's position in the Early Childhood Department. Jackie and I met while working at Pearson Publishers, with Gloria Horner, the Texas Manager, nevertheless, I don't think if it's appropriate for an applicant to communicate with her. Recently my husband, works for AARP in San Antonio, had a change in his job position, which means he might be working out of Austin again. If an occasion arises, you happen to see or talk to Jackie, I would appreciate a kind word regarding my interest.

As my breath fills the open-air with a cool and foggy mist, I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't gone on this trip. As I look down all I see is clothes covered in dirt and I wonder when the last time That Susan had got a chance to wash This Set of clothes when I look around i see some familiar faces and some I can't make out. These mountains have taken us days to climb. Most say that we are almost to the top but I fear that we still have very far to go. A fresh layer of snow lays atop the wagons, Susan is laying down bundled in a thin blanket inside the wagon, Father is getting old, And i'm starting to think that he might not ever see california. If he doesn't make it it would be just me and Susan, I don't think that i'll have time

In 2011 on a very cold December night, my dad told me something that I will never forget. My siblings and I were all sitting in my fathers very out dated apartment, eating hamburger helper and watching a movie on his small 32 inch t.v.

The lower region in Loma Linda in California is a bore, a drag, an uneventful livelihood, a calm, a home, a quiet night, an established community, an utter disappointment. Loma linda is the born and raised, wood and glass and flowers and warmth, cracked streets and leaf-coated driveways and dust-covered cars, churches and grocery stores and farmers markets and gas stations and pho restaurants. Its inhabitants are, as many would say, “Racists, poor people, students, and rich old white men.” by which they would mean everyone. Another person’s perspective may have been, “ Proud Americans, humble folks, geniuses, and hardworking retirees.” and they would have meant the same thing.

Thousands of migrants in the 1920’s - 1950’s envisioned Compton, California as the perfect place to settle down and ideal center for industrial workers. That vision did come true for white Americans, although it

Los Angeles was the first product off the assembly line of American urban planning. Turned on in the late 19th century, the city-making machine was fueled by an immense immigration of people who sought to create a new type of city out of the previously quaint pueblo. They also strove to craft the first major city developed primarily by Americans and outside of European archetypes. As a result, Los Angles is not only incredibly diverse, but also nearly impossible to define. Since it is a product of the American machine, understanding the community of Los Angeles becomes vital to understanding the United States. But to fully comprehend the present Los Angeles, one must look at the process that created it. Specifically, Los Angeles was