My family and I resided in the
upper tenderloin for most of my upbringing. I lived on Nob Hill, the very first
hill the cable cars runs up on. From what I remember there was three liquor
stores, bars, a sushi place, pizza joint, and hills all around me. My
neighborhood was like every other neighborhood but a little weirder. I know one
thing for sure there was always that quiet creepy feeling that came to me after
10 in the area. I would prefer coming in early due to the fact that there was a
high rate of sex offenders in the neighborhood just lurking around. I guess all those liquor stores and bars weren’t
a big help after all. Growing up in a neighborhood where people start to get
familiar with your face isn’t always safe the reason why is that I’m speaking
from my own experiences and others. I grew up in fear but became fearless after
realizing the game.
I am who I am because of the
neighborhood I lived in. Growing up in that type of neighborhood made a cautious
person. It really put my instincts to the test. Me and my mother, being women
was even harder because we were targeted even more. I also know that my father
and older brother were also influenced with the nonsense taking place outside
of our building. After that, it just took an effect on the entire family. All
that noise and drama soon became an everyday thing. So I came to realize that
my decisions played a huge part in the neighborhood as well. I had to protect
myself from all the neighborhood nonsense and started to make wiser decisions
rather than competing and having over the top kind of pride. Overall, living in
that type of neighborhood made me stronger, wiser and prepared for the next one
because I knew that wasn’t going to be the last type of neighborhood I would
come across in my life.