Layer's of California

When I think of the South land I think of the beautiful beaches of Southern Califonria. Since Southern California is very close to Mexico, I also think of the vibrant hispanic culture. In "Santa Ana of Grocery Carts", Girmay writes, "when we started, there were cousins & two parents,
now everything lost has been to you" (Girmay 28-29). This line stands out to me because of the way that the hispanic culture has been a minority in society and sometimes is segregated. That being said, I have a great appreciation for the Spanish culture and its influences in California.

The Heartland represents a vast history of California and stands as a frontier in my eyes. With its long ranges of corn rows and agricultural land, the heartland stands for the true "heart" of California. That being said, people in the heartland are often limited by the emptiness of the open land. For example, in "We in the Fields", Emerson writes that the workers are, "hopelessly longing to know the red beauty" (Emerson 13). In my perspective, this idea of the red beauty represents the horizon and the city life of other parts of California. This is something that people want to experience, and this often leaves this part of California forgotten.

The Bay Area is somewhere that I have visited a few times in my life. When I think of this area I consider the vast fog banks and vibrant city life of San Francisco. San Francisco is an area that is very influenced by Chinese culture. In the streets of China Town, this culture is very prominent and in Amy Tan's, "Fish Cheeks", she displays this influence. With many Chinese immigrants coming to the United States, a struggle emerged to preserve their culture while assimilating to the customs of the Untied States. Tan writes, "and even though I didn’t agree with her then, I knew that she understood how much I had suffered during the evening’s dinner" (Tan 1). This is a story of a Chinese girl finally appreciating her culture after being self conscious due to her feelings for a white man. Ultimately, this culture contributes to the diversity in this area and many other parts of California. 

Huntington Beach

People come to Huntington Beach for different reasons.
Some visit, some stay, and some are lost.
When the sun rises, some are quick to get up
Some are not.
People from all cultures hit the streets in the morning traffic haze.
It seems like everyone is going somewhere,
has something to do, in an endless cycle of routine.
When the afternoon arrives, the smell of dead skunk hits the neighborhoods.
All the kids smell like skunk now days.
Night arrives and emotion floods the street.
A street fair is set up down town.
Culture vibrates through the city as the night is woken up.
A girl rushes to a trash can after too much alcohol for the night.
She's 15 years old.
People walk by this girl, all by herself, but no one cares.
It's easy to make a mess in a city like this,
but hard to pick it up.



This poem was inspired by my experiences and what I have witnessed growing up in Huntington Beach. This is a beautiful city, but also a city with many dark aspects to it. It seems like the the preservation of innocence continues to be lost throughout time. I wanted to highlight this idea of the sunshine and the shadows of Huntington Beach.