GEL 101

Anderson

10/6/07

California

I am a first generation American citizen in my family. My mother is from Mexico City and my dad is from a border town called Mexicali. Both my parents emigrated here from Mexico, although my mother has been naturalized. When both my parents’ families immigrated here they worked as migrant workers, moving from region to region following the harvests. From what my parents have told me, one of the major reasons that they came specifically to California was because of the job opportunities; that is to say that California is a largely agricultural state, and has crops growing year-round. My grandparents decided to come to America because it is seen as the land of opportunity, where people can come to start a new, prosperous life.

I love living in southern California for a variety of reasons, especially because of the weather; it is almost always warm and sunny. Also, there is just such a large diversity of people; people from all walks of life live here, poor, rich, black, white, latino, asian, middle eastern, european, everything. I cannot really say anything negative about California, I love everything about it! Fortunately, I have not yet experienced any form of racial discrimination.