Carson has been my home for all 16 years I’ve been living on Earth. It's a part of who I am, so seeing it get more and more destroyed year by year hurts me on an emotional level. I'm not writing this essay for the purpose of the competition I genuinely want to make a difference. As I grow older I see the real problems that are a rising in my community. Things like trash on the streets, poverty, and graffiti are turning my community foriegn and unfamilar. 

Unstable waste management is something the whole world is going through at this very moment in time. The solution to that problem has to start from the bottom and build it’s way up. By that I mean communities like mine have to begin and clean the streets from litter in order to inspire others to do the same in theirs. Turn a problem most of us face into a revolutionary movement that can spread one place to another and reach people with great authority in order to make an impact all across the world. I’m tired of seeing Hot Cheetos bags just laying on the side walk like if that’s were it belongs. It brings me displeasure to know people just have the nerve to do that. I can’t be the only one that wants to do something; I know theres more and we need to stand up together and use are voice.

Poverty is a big issue anywhere you go, my community always had it but now its getting worse. I feel sorrow when people ask me for loose change when I’m walking to the mall near my home. Sometimes I help, other times I don’t have anything to offer. No human being should be suffering that bad in life no matter who they are. My community doesn’t really have that much financial support in order to assist them in any way, but we can create funds as a community, donate as much as we can. Have annual food drives during the holidays, and have programs like Homes For the Homeless like they do in New York. Homes For the Homeless provide housing for homeless people usually overnight. This adds support, that’s what we need to do...support, support them when they need us the most, support them in order for one day in the future they can support us as well as the community.

Graffiti in today’s pop culture is shown as a way to express yourself in a form of art. I support that and all, but there’s a difference between expressing yourself and vandalizing. A few blocks up from my house there’s taggings of - I’m not sure if they’re gangs or not but pretty sure they are - different type of slogans and signs. And I don’t see a point for that, I would prefer a hideous portrait of our lovely President Mr. Trump; at least when I look at it I can laugh because I still can’t believe he won the election. In order to stop this my community needs to have a well organized neighborhood watch. Where  people in the community work together to keep the community safe and secure. Obviously we won’t take the police’s job, but we can make sure they are contacted right away and get the situation situated. We create shifts and swicth between people and times in order to fit people’s schedules. Neighborhood watches are proven to reduce crime at a affortable way as stated by our very own LAPD. Last time I checked vandalism is against the law…..so neighborhood watch is the way to go!

My community is attached to me, it’s a factor that is developing the person who I’m becoming or who I will eventually become in the furtue. So, witnessing these issues face to face makes me want to make a change. Not change to better my life, but to better the life of others in the community, to better it for the generations to come. Inspire younger kids that when something is wrong in your neighborhood or anywhere it doesn’t matter if you’re a minority or feel like you don’t have a voice, you as individual can still make a change and persuade others to due so creating your own voice and making your mark on this world.