Community Connections: Meet Jocelyn R.

What object connects you to your community? We asked this question to the Youth Voices students at South El Monte High School at the end of our first meeting, and requested that they bring this object to our next class. These objects, along with their explanations, offer physical evidence of the personal link the students have with their neighborhood, and served as their point of departure for their Youth Voices Project: their experience, memories, and personal understanding of their community. To see more of the students' work click HERE or use #kcetyv on Twitter and Instagram.
My name is Jocelyn R. and I'm currently a junior at South El Monte High School. Even though I actually live in the City of El Monte, but I attend South El Monte High School. I decided to attend this school, because It's a smaller school and it's comforting to me because everything is near by.

The object that connects me to my community is my skateboard. I have a wooden skateboard, I don't ride the banana board which is popular at the moment . Sometimes when the road is bumpy, it's harder for me to skate because I'm still learning. I use my skateboard to roam around or simply to practice. I can't consider myself a skater yet, but I give myself credit because I only know two other girls who skate.The other two girls are not part of our community, so unfortunately I can't really get in contact with them as often. Most skateboards can be found in skate shops but recently the local shop here in El Monte was closed.

The love for skating developed when my brother's friend invited me to a skate with him. My friend pushed me to learn how to ride -- I remember him saying "It's OK to fall" and I always keep that in mind because I know practice makes perfect. Skateboarding helped formed a bond with my friend who showed me how amazing balancing your board can be.