Culture Shock

Since I’ve begun school here, life has just been...different...somehow. Not necessarily in a bad way...it’s just...difficult to adjust to. Cultures are so very different around the world, and even the country...so you can see how switching from one place to another can be a major shock. As it was in my case.

“What’s your problem, dude? Get with it!”

Even adjusting to the way things are here is taking longer than I had expected. In Colorado, where I was born, things are laid back...but here, it’s like I’m always going...always running. Here, I always have to watch my back. The crimes, the back-stabbing “friends,“ the constant danger...it is an incredible culture change.

All I really want from life is peace...love and happiness will come along the way. I know it seems somewhat clichéd, but it’s true. I’ve never really been into violence, never into the drama and hatred most others are consumed with. I’m just a laid-back teen with a hunger for excitement, be it extreme sports or emotional challenges. I’m really just trying to learn more about myself in a world where I am the exception.

In my new school, Galileo High, I am almost completely surrounded by violence. Gangs are everywhere...it seems like everyone is in one...in my city, there are at least twenty gangs...one for each side then various independent groups.

Shortly after moving here, I was unaware of the danger. After all, small town life is all I had known. But all this changed one day when I was walking home from my friend Ayane’s house. The sun had set and it was nearly dark...in Colorado, it is no big deal to walk the alleyways and back roads, as no one really cares enough to try and cause harm. I was almost home when the gang covering the west-side came out and blocked my path.

“Wha’ ‘chu think you doin’ here?” the leader, I guess he was, called out.

“I’m...just walking home.”

“He don’t know who we is,” he said to his mates, as they all chuckled at the thought.

“Dudes, I don’t mean any harm. Just let me get home and it won’t happen again.”

They were moving in towards me. I was more scared than I would have liked to let on, and uncertain of what they were going to do, though I knew it couldn’t be good. So I bolted...with my athletic experience in Colorado, I was sure I could outrun them.

While I was running, I thought to myself, “Why do they not have guns?” Then a bullet whizzed by my head, and that question was quickly answered. I was fast enough (and lucky enough, thanks to not being very close to them in the first place) to be an entire block ahead of them at this point, so I ducked behind a garbage dumpster and decided to wait it out.

They ran past me.

After a few moments, and once I was certain it was clear, I let out a sigh of relief and stepped out. I was happy to be away from them, though I now had no clue where I was. It was easy to find my way home, however, as I just walked in the opposite direction I had just been running. Good stuff.

When I arrived home, I called Ayane and told her about what had happened.

“You’re crazy for walking the streets at night anyway! What did you expect?” she exclaimed.

“I didn’t think anything of it...it’s never really been a problem before.”

Ayane is my new best friend. She has light, golden hair and a fair complexion to go with it. She can be crazy, but she has brains, too. As she is showing me here.

“Don’t you EVER do that again, okay? Or you’re going to force me to become your personal bodyguard, and I’m certain you wouldn’t like that.”

We laughed.

“I think I’m ready to go to bed. Hey...why don’t you come to Sandy Point with me tomorrow? We can talk more then.”

Sandy Point, as we call it, is our favorite spot near the shore. It is comprised of rocks and has very little sand, so I guess it’s somewhat of a misnomer.

“Sounds good...I’ll see you there. Good night!”

Tomorrow came, and I arrived nearly an hour before she did. Sandy Point is my little haven, of sorts. There, I am able to just put everything away and lose myself in the glowing California sunset. When I gaze into it, it’s like all my problems and fears are just washed away, and I feel as though I can truly be at peace.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked as sat down next to me.

“Just everything...my life, friends, future...where I am in this life...just...all of it.”

“Would you mind telling me about some if it?” She ran her hands through her hair as though she was getting ready for the most important speech of her life.

“Well...I don’t know. Sometimes I just really wonder who I am. What is my purpose? I mean, I’m not like any of the other guys at all. I don’t fight, I’m not particularly great in any area, yet I’m stellar in most. I’m not really anything. I’m just--”

“You,” she said as she softly put her hand on my cheek and kissed me. It was completely unexpected, yet the timing could not have been better. “You’re...you. The you I know is full of potential. You haven’t found yourself yet and that’s fine. But when you get there...you’ll know it. And you will finally have the satisfaction of knowing that you have just proved your self-worth, not only to everyone else, but also to yourself.” She laid her head on my shoulder. “You’ll get there. I believe in you.”

All I could do is smile at this point. I was completely taken in by the emotion of the scene. The beauty as the orange light from the sunset washed over the canvas of my view, the emotional connection between us, and most of all...the knowledge that someone else believes in me, too. It was all so surreal. I guess I’ve finally found what I’ve been looking for: peace, love, and happiness. Is this what life is all about? I’m sure it doesn’t get any better than this.