A Growing City

The Mesa I Know

 

    Two nights ago, I was having dinner with my family when suddenly my dad mentioned moving back to his hometown in Texas. Everyone went silent with shock. His explanation was that he missed where he grew up. My younger sister looked up and said, “But this is our hometown and we don’t want to leave. We grew up here and have so many memories here.” After my sister said that, I realized how much I love living in Mesa and never considered moving away. The only exception is for school in Tucson in which I drive back home every other weekend and spend my summers here. I always viewed spending my whole life in Mesa. It is the place I want to come back to after college to be a Pediatric Oncologist.

 

    Later that night I got to thinking about why I love Mesa so much and why I always get comments from people about how they don’t see what makes Mesa so great. I remember one incident when someone asked me where I was from and when hearing my response laughed and said, “you live with all the senior citizens and their mobile homes.” However, this is not the Mesa I know.

 

    The Mesa I know has a gorgeous view of the Superstition Mountains. It’s the place where I can go outside and enjoy the Red Mountains with blue skies in the background. Mesa is the place where I can just hop in my car and drive ten minutes to be in the nature either swimming at Canyon Lake or hiking steep trails. Where else in the Phoenix area can one live close to the city, but even closer to nature? However, the beautiful view and closeness to nature is not the only reason why I love Mesa.

 

    I love Mesa for its award-winning neighborhoods. Mesa is a growing city and has many new middle class suburban neighborhoods. Many neighborhoods targeted to be comforting to families. Take my neighborhood for example. I live in a large community that includes an elementary and high school within it. Both are in walking distances. We also have a large park in the middle of the neighborhood. We have monthly neighborhood meetings and garage sales. Everybody knows each other, gets involved with the schools, and watches out for any crime. This type of neighborhood is all over Mesa and it’s these communities that Mesa has built that make this town such a wonderful place to live for families.

 

    Nevertheless, what makes me love Mesa so much are the schools and extra-curricular activities. I have graduated from high school in Mesa and am excited to have my younger sister going to the same school as me, that way she may get the best education that I received. The high schools in Mesa are very academically competitive. Each school is constantly competing for academic decathlon state champions. We are the people champions, and highest SAT, ACT, or AIMS scores. The schools prepare students for college very well and many offer a wide array of college duel enrollment courses. Every Mesa school has many advance classes to offer with great teachers and counselors. I know that because my sister is going to a Mesa school, she has a great opportunity to go to a great college.

 

    Now the extra curricular activities Mesa offers are amazing. Our parks are always full with baseball or football practices. Our schools offer a wide arrange of clubs for people. For example, I was Historian of National Honor Society, Treasurer of the We the People team, President of Coyote Connection Leaders, member of Skyline’s Community Service team, and many more. Students who go to a Mesa school have the opportunity to join many clubs and sports like these. However, it’s not just the schools that offer many activities. The city does too. I was President of Mesa Mayor’s Youth Congress, which gave students the opportunity to learn more about the government and work with many leaders such as Governor Napolitano. The city also offers many all-age activities at their many recreational centers. All together, Mesa is a great place to be if one wants to get involved.

 

    However, Mesa is not just an active family community, but it’s a community that offers help to those in need. It’s easy to find ways to volunteer through the schools, community bulletins, or the City of Mesa website. Mesa has created programs dedicated to helping people find ways to volunteer. I have done over a thousand community service hours in high school here and I know I wouldn’t have gotten the experience I did anywhere else. I volunteered at many places here in Mesa like Save the Family, the Child Crisis Center, Race for a Cure, Sunshine Acres, Special Olympics, and many more. However, Mesa has two organizations that have change many lives, the Therapy Zone and RPAC Adventures. Through years of working with these two organizations and eventually becoming head counselor, I have had a life changing experience. Therapy Zone is a non-profit organization that offers many types of therapy to special needs children and RPAC takes these children on field trips and activities. I have seen these two places change children’s’ lives and volunteers. Because of these two organizations, I want to become a Pediatric Oncologist. I am proud to say that Mesa has two places that have made a difference in many lives and has many more organizations like these to offer. No other city has as many places like these that touch lives.

 

    Nevertheless, it’s not just the scenery, schools, neighborhoods, and organizations that make me ultimately love Mesa. It’s the people here in Mesa that has made this city my favorite. I have never encountered a problem with anyone in Mesa. I feel safe to walk around without pepper spray or go somewhere when it’s dark out. In fact, everyone I have met has been kind and helpful in my life. My teachers and counselors at school were constantly offering help to get me into a great college. The Mayor was always offering me insight on how the city works. My bosses at the Therapy Zone and RPAC were always concerned with my education and how my family was doing. The many children I have met volunteering have showed me happiness since I have many abilities. My neighbors say hello everyday and the bagger at the grocery store is always offering help. I live in a community full of people that make everyday living happy.

 

    So all together, Mesa is a wonderful place to live because of its scenery, environment, schools, organizations, extra curricular activities, and neighborhoods. Nevertheless, it is because of the people who live here and I communicate with everyday that I can say Mesa is a perfect place to live in.