My community doesn’t define me

What stands out to me about my identity is that I am very ambitious but I came a long way for that to happen. I once did not care about school and was getting into some police problems.

In freshman year, I would never come to school so my grades were poor. But I changed my life around which took a lot of work for me to come this far and to be proud of where I am now.

I use to live in Boyle Heights, but recently moved to Monterey Park about three months ago. Living in Boyle Heights to now Monterey Park, they are very different from one another. But I honestly don’t think my community has really impacted my life. My community is just a place where I live in, doesn’t really define who I am and what people assume who I am just because of where I come from.

The only connection I have with who I am and my community is hard-working. The people of Boyle Heights are hardworking because on my way to school I would see people waiting for the bus or on their way to work.

You can’t live a life here without having a job because everything has a price to it. Not many people have an education so the only option they have is work, work, and work to support their family.

A suggestion I would have for city planners are to make more murals or design buildings in a way for the taggers to stop writing in the walls and making the community look ugly.