San Francisco Sans Family
"That's where I first stayed!" –Mom
...Mom exclaimed, upon telling her that Catherine lives in Sunset—she was very worried Catherine decided to take up the unsavory 'hood of the Tenderloin. Turns out, Sunset was Mom's first stop in America after a long flight of drinking nothing but orange juice, because that was the only English word she knew. A distant relative lived out there and helped Mom get settled in before meeting her boo, a.k.a Dad, for the first time.
And now my bestie lives out in Sunset, her chosen neighborhood in her new town of San Francisco. I went to California to visit her, my first time since she'd moved over a year and a half ago. I flew out for her birthday weekend and we spent it hiking around Monterey Bay at Point Lobos and Pinnacle National Park. In every way, it was the perfect trip—I spent time with my bestie, whom I rarely see, on her birthday; I was in nature; and I ate incredibly well.
The short trip didn't allow much time to visit SF-based family, though most trips out west usually include a visit with aunts, uncles, and cousins. Mom's whole family lives around the Bay area, and it was where I was raised for the first two years of my life. I've never had a strong pull to move out west, but I've always had strong ties to California.
Despite not visiting Mom's family, I felt closer to her by staying in Sunset—the same part of town Mom stayed when she was only a few years older than I am now, but in different circumstances. She came to start a new life, to raise a family out from under the shadow of communism. And I walked those same streets some 30 years later as the classically lost-in-life millennial who enjoys the privilege of growing up in a wealthy first world country. But I try not to forget where I come from, a family of hard-working immigrants.
Walking the same sidewalks Mom did as an eager young Chinese girl—excited for her new life—put my troubles in perspective. I am still incredibly lucky. I may not have a trust fund, but I have the privilege to be lost and confused because I have too many options, and that's thanks to a young woman brave enough to leave everything she knew for the possibility of something better, not actually knowing what was on the other side. Immigrants bear a bravery that the average person will never have to experience, and they deserve the utmost respect and most importantly, the warmest of welcomes.
