Origins

My parents had a rough time growing up. Their families didn’t have a large income to offer my parents so even the smallest things, like a can of soda, was worth so much to them. My parents were both born in Mexico. They were raised in different states–Jalisco and Michoacán. They were not happy with the opportunities their children were going to have in that country, so they decided to give us the chance their parents never gave them and move to the United States of America. It wasn’t easy to get there, especially considering the fact that I was still in my mother’s womb, but that didn’t stop them. When my parents first arrived, their first thought was to go, not just to the City of Los Angeles, but to East Los Angeles.

This community offered both great housing and education. My family, after a couple of years, decided to move to Santa Fe Springs, thinking it was going to be a better community for us. I can now say that wasn’t the case. The environment in the schools for my brothers and me wasn’t the same as it was here in this beautiful community of East Los Angeles. It didn’t take many years until my family realized it wasn’t the right community for us, and we moved back to this community of East Los Angeles.

East Los Angeles has given me very memorable experiences. One of the most memorable experiences was when my cousins moved to this community as well and were able to interact a lot more frequently with my brothers and me. We would always get together and play tag or video games. This is one of the reasons I love this community. Most of my family members live in this area and that gives us better communication. I have also had other unforgettable experiences like, for example, when I started my education at Hamasaki Elementary School. I met great friends, great teachers, and got a great education. This community has been the start of my education and will certainly be my finish.

Here in East Los Angeles are many wonderful places my family and I like to visit. For example, one place my family and I like to visit often is Obregon Park. I’ve had many memories in this park. One of them was when my brother and I were learning how to ride our bikes for the first time. We quickly got the hang of it after a couple lessons from our dad and spent most of our day there. Another place I like to visit frequently here in East Los Angeles is the Chinese buffet on Whittier Boulevard. I generally visit this place with my family and with close friends. I spend most of my time visiting the different places East Los Angeles has to offer. I like visiting the different retail stores and other places I have never gone to before, which currently are still many.

As previously mentioned, I have met wonderful people and they have all helped shape my life in one way or another. Teachers have helped me be less timid and friends have helped me be more open. I absolutely admire the passion people give to this community. People have worked hard to make this community the best it could be and always strive to make it better. The people in this community help others make better choices when it comes to raising a family and also encourage people to keep the streets of East Los Angeles clean. I have always liked this community ever since I can remember. East Los Angeles overall has given my family safe neighborhoods. My family has never experienced any problems with any neighbors, which really makes me feel that people in this community are kind and helpful towards other people around them.

With all that I’ve mentioned, the answer is pretty obvious that East Los Angeles is very important to me and has impacted my life in various ways. East Los Angeles isn’t only important to a few people, but to the thousands of people in this community. Many people consider East Los Angeles their home and so do I. From my experience, no other community has ever been the same as East Los Angeles has been with my life. I wasn’t able to “fit-in” in other communities and I wasn’t able to have as many friends as I do now. East Los Angeles has always been my home and I would not choose any other community over East Los Angeles, the origins of my life.