The good in East Los Angeles

“Man found dead” is the typical news you would hear about East Los Angeles. I don’t feel like it is right that people only hear the bad things about East Los Angeles and not the good things. To me, East Los Angeles is a place I call home and a place I am proud to say I grew up in. To me, it is not a place of high crime rates or a place where poverty is a big issue. I love East Los Angeles and everything it has to offer. As I grow older, I realize more and more how important East Los Angeles is to me.

I grew up in the same small peach house that I still live in today. My home is in the middle of City Terrace and close to the northern border of East Los Angeles. Since I was younger, I would always ride my bike around my community and visit places like The Superior, Liliana’s Restaurant, Atlantic Square, Belvedere Park, City Terrace Library, and City Terrace Park, my favorite place in East Los Angeles.

City Terrace Park is my favorite place because it reminds me of my childhood. I always loved walking to the park and admiring the awesome mural on the side of the gym. I would go visit the huge dome where everyone would play basketball. My friends and I once climbed up the huge dome and were too scared to climb back down. I loved to go swimming during hot summer days or play football with my friends every Saturday morning. One of my favorite things to do at City Terrace Park is to lie down on the hill on the far left of the park, where the trees cast shadows for me to lie under no matter how sunny it is. City Terrace Park also got me out of my comfort zone because I would meet new people every time I would go there to hang out. This made me a more outgoing person and made it easier to talk to people. City Terrace Park also has a special place in my heart because it was a place where I would go to get things out of my head while my mom and dad were going through a divorce.

East Los Angeles in general is one of my favorite places to be. Almost all of my best memories happened here, and I know only good things can come from being here.