New place, New views.

As my family and I drive up to our new apartment I notice most of the lawns

don’t look very well cared for. I assume the people here don’t care much about the

appearance of their front yards. As we walk to our backyard, plants from our

neighbor’s yard are poking through the fence into our yard. By the looks of it, our

neighbor really enjoys to garden.

          The grass in our backyard has been cut at our request. Our picnic table is a

different story. The paint and wood look like they are chipping away. It looks worn

down and is an eyesore. My family and I decide to take a look into our garage. The

roof is caving in slightly which indicates the landlord has not had a chance to fix it.

After the garage we go out into the alley.

          The alley is not overflowing with garbage, which is surprising. Our

neighbors are clean enough to keep their trash in their own cans. Some of the garage

doors have graffiti scrawled across them. Gang members must live around here. We

have to keep an eye out for them. The gangs have no respect for other people’s

property. I hope they don’t tag our building.

          Down the street there is a corner store. It holds many of the basic things we

need in a home; paper towels, soap, etc. There are many stores and restaurants. We

have plenty of places to go when we need to restock our pantry. We won’t have to

travel far to get what we need.

          There is also a high school which holds a diverse group of students. Some of

the students throw up gang signs which signals they belong to a crew or they are

trying to become a part of one. The school actually has a bad reputation. When I

walk by, the teenagers give me dirty looks and even try to talk me into a fight.

          We also have a park near us. When we arrive at the park, kids are running

around everywhere. One girl even comes up to me and says, “What’s your name? I’m

Sarah.

                  “My name is Darivette.”

                  “Would you like to play with me?”

                  “No, thank you.”

                  “Why won’t you play with me?”

                  “I have to leave the park soon.”

After that, the little girl runs off. This seems to be the only safe

place in our neighborhood. No gangs, no crazy teens. There is only the peaceful

frolicking of little children.

          My first night at our apartment seems to be calm. That doesn’t last very long.

Soon enough we hear loud yelling and the traffic noise down the street. I’m

pretty sure there is even a loud popping sound. My neighborhood is safe at times,

but not always.

          In the morning, our neighbors finally start to come out and welcome us. The

people who live on either side of us seem like the kindest ones. They don’t have a

mean look on their faces or any children that belong to a gang. They are also the

only ones who take the time to actually give us a real welcome. Our neighbors are

pretty old. This is probably a big reason as to why they are so kind. I guess we have

to get use to the fact that our neighborhood isn’t a united community.