Community Connections: Meet Cynthia B.

What object connects you to your community? We asked the Youth Voices students at Mountain View High School this question at the end of our first meeting and requested they bring that object to our next class meeting. The items they brought and their explanations offer physical evidence of the personal link the students have with their neighborhood and identifies their departure point for this project: their experience, memories and personal understanding of their community. To see more of the student's work click HERE or use #kcetyv on Twitter and Instagram.My name is Cynthia B., Currently I am in the 12th grade and I attend Mountain View High School in El Monte, CA. My school community is very energetic, very spirited in the sense that people are proud to be a part of this community. People outside my community doubt any of the students will succeed but regardless of what they might say, students act otherwise. I believe Mountain View High school has its benefits and I love the fact my school has shaped the person I am today. This is the first place I would take a new visitor in my neighborhood because there are many activities to attend or be involved in, and I would tell that person the history of my school and how it connects with my community.

Here are some other important facts you should know about me: I manage to get things done with the best of my ability through tough situations. For instance, for a week I was really ill and I had to catch up on homework, luckily, in a whole sleepless night, I sneezed right through my homework but I was devastated to discover all the work I accomplished was not due for another week. That experience made me realize my determination to do the impossible to achieve my goal.

El Monte is my home, it is the only home I ever had. Being a part of this community opened my eyes to know how fortunate I am to connect with the things, places, and people around me. People in other communities may look down upon me, but that just gives me more of a reason to succeed and chase after my dream.

This picture is from the day I took a trip to Long Beach and it connects me to my neighborhood because the trip was sponsored by the El Monte Trolley Station. The connections I made with people during our trip to Long Beach made it's way back to El Monte.