Do I Still See the Light?

I used to. Now, I don't know anymore...

You see, I live in Weston Ranch and for a while I was glad that moved to this part of town because it was so closed off. No strip malls (except for Food 4 Less), Walmarts, Targets nearby to congest our streets. Overall, it's pretty quiet in my part of the neighborhood.

I started this blog hoping I could shed some kind of light on Stockton. Something to show that Stockton really isn't that bad. I still know that in my heart and I don't believe you could really appreciate it unless you grew up and actually lived here. That means, taking it for what it is. I'm a firm believer in the saying that home is what you make of it. Moving to a place with expectations is already a ticket to disappointment. I never found the time to actually sit down and write about my city because I was a student at the time and I basically never found the opportunity to do so but today something has been weighing heavy on my mind as I lounged all day in a Davis park, picnicking with my nearest and dearest. I would love to be able to do this all the time. To be among people, outside, and to feel safe.

Growing up here gave me streets smarts. Smarts that I took with me to Disneyland last year when I would not leave my beat up, cheap stroller amongst all the other strollers that were clearly worth 50x more than mine, while I went in line for a ride, fearing that it will be stolen. Forget that. I was too paranoid.

A couple of days ago, a young man who was around my age was shot point blank in the face, in broad daylight while he was sitting next to his girlfriend. It happened in Weston Ranch Park.

I have a son. I want to make this a better place for him but I don't know where to start. I used to be motivated to make a change but without that sense of community... I don't know what Stockton is going to do. A 21 year old City Council candidate is competing for District 6, my district, in the 2012 elections and I know being that young you have a passion for things that older folks lose with age. I just hope he isn't naive but then again he is from Stockton.

Being from Stockton, what does that entail? That's another story... the point of all this is, I don't want to raise my son in this environment but family is here. I want to believe Stockton will get better, I just don't know if I want to stick around and hope.