I live in North
Oakland, which is usually considered the better part of Oakland,
aside from the Oakland Hills. Compared to East Oakland and West
Oakland, North Oakland is more “clean” and “safe.” I have
lived in my neighborhood for almost all my life and it is located on
the borderline of Oakland and Emeryville. Although it is considered
as the safer part of Oakland, there is still a good deal of violence
that occurs. The block that I live on is calm and quiet, but the
blocks to the left and the right of mine have a little more
commotion. Everybody knows everybody, so it definitely just feels
like home.
I am who I am
despite the neighborhood I live in. Growing up where I reside today,
I was able to see a lot of different things and meet a lot of
different people. The schools I attended were predominately African
American and so was the neighborhood I grew up in. Being different
from others, because I am Asian, I was still able to interact with
the kids from the neighborhood and play with whoever. Most of my
Elementary school life, I would spend most of my time at my late
grandparents' house which was also in North Oakland about 20 blocks
away from my house. This neighborhood was a little rougher than my
side of the neighborhood. There were kids from the Elementary school,
but there were also drug dealers and “crack heads.” As kids, my
cousins and I were exposed to a lot of violence and drug abuse from
people within our neighborhood, especially from the apartment
building 2 houses down from my grandparents' house. Although they
were all around friendly people, it was not the type of neighborhood
some people would want to live in. As I went on to middle school and
high school, I noticed a bit of changes. The apartment building was
restored and a lot of new people set in and the neighborhood became a
little more inviting, despite the young teens that were hanging out
on the street corners. Growing up in the neighborhoods I've grew up
in, I am definitely used to it, but I am not ashamed of it. I usually
like to tell people where I am from so that they can see that I was
not affected by my neighborhood and be able to understand that
anybody from anywhere can achieve. I learned a lot from the people I
hang around with to the neighborhoods I have been in and I wouldn't
change where I came from for anything.
