My Neighborhood Stereotypes

Everything growing up in my neighborhood seemed to revolve around the poverty line: a liquor store every few blocks, the homeless wandering up and down the streets, palleteros (ice cream men) caring their goods on handmade wooden bicycle carriages. This was the environment many outsiders perceived, just this and that, never any depth or reason. I was always told by my parents, teachers, and peers, to not fall into the stereotypes that have branded my neighborhood, the infamous South Central Los Angeles area, I was cautioned never to believe the illusion that this was my culture and this is where my life began and where it ends. Reflecting on my early youth, I could see how real this was when a friend of mine would just disappear from school and instead end up just wandering the streets. Early on, I had determined to not fit the stereotypes by taking up music and studying it in whatever manner it would be, whether playing it or through theory. It was out of the question that a kid of my area should know who Paganini, Debussy, Dvorak, Mahler, or Chopin are, let alone be able to sit down and listen to a concerto, yet I did. What I learned from music early on were skills necessary to succeed in all

Also, fueled by a natural curiosity, I would seek out intellectual pursuits through various means: books from the library covering a range of topics from philosophy to economics, which resulted in finding a love for star gazing and poetry; afterschool conversations with teachers about a topic covered in class alongside other interested peers; extracurricular activities like band and debate team; and surprisingly enough, the Internet, which has a swath of debates, lectures, and presentations accessible through sites like