Am I a Child of the West?

I think I am a child of the west for many reasons. Before I continue, I would like to mention that the western culture is very different from how the western culture was perceived in the 1800's. Now, the western culture is perceived as a relaxed and easy-going culture. Many think of California as a place where many people don't care about what they will do later in life....... I do not place myself into that category. Although I am very focused with my studies, I am most definitely a California girl. I love to be by the beach and have all of the possibilities in a day that California offers. For example, when I wake up, I have the opportunities to do anything that I feel like that day. I could go surfing, freeboarding, or hiking.  This is why I categorize myself as a western child.

My Coming Of Age

If I had to choose one moment that could be considered a "coming of age" experience, it would be my first summer doing Junior Lifeguards when the director approached me out of the blue and asked if I would like to sing the national anthem for a competition which was the next day. I had never sung the national anthem before, I was 11 years old, and I had no idea what the words were. So naturally, I did not want to do it alone. My best friend at the time also was a singer and so I asked if she wanted to do it with me. She said yes. As fast as wind we grabbed our phones and asked our parents my friend could come over after Junior Guards and we could practice. They said yes. We practiced for what seemed like 100 hours, making sure everything sounded as nice as we could get it (and memorized the words). The next morning, my friend and I climbed the scaffolding, as tall as the Empire State Building, and sang our hearts out in front of more or less 2,000 people. There was everyone from our Santa Barbara organization, parents, grandparents, siblings, and competitors, then multiplied by 9 for all the other regional organizations that were attending. It was terrifying, but we finished the song and it felt so good to know that we had conquered our fears. My fear of heights, and the fear of performing that we both knew well.