50.9 F
Davis

Davis, California

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Crafting Gemeinschaft: I’ll Be Home For Christmas

Going home for Thanksgiving was a sweet, short taste of what home is all about. It was a brief reminder of how much I have changed since last being home (it probably also was for freshmen who feel they have reinvented themselves in college) and how some things will always stay the same (like how your friend group likes to pass time). For my last column, I would like to write a love letter to my home, the Bay Area, to show that the community we care most about can be the one we come from.

One thing I love about the Bay is the diversity in food. It’s not everywhere you can find the best burrito place, the best pho place and the best Indian place, all within walking distance. In Davis there is some diversity in terms of food, but it seems forced and not authentic.

Riding the BART, as annoying as it can be sometimes (particularly when there is a sports game going on or when it’s suffering spontaneous shutdowns because of protests), but it’s another one of my favorite things about the Bay. Some of the characters you see on BART are ridiculous, like the groups of men who look like the Lost Boys. BART is their Neverland and they are just living out the weekend to compensate for their work week which has left them feeling unfulfilled.

The music scene. I know Davis has a great music scene, with all of the house shows and the lovely college campus radio station, but there are never artists that pass through on the level of what you see in San Francisco and Oakland. Perhaps one of the reasons big artists don’t play in Davis is the lack of music venues, but that’s another part of why I love the Bay Area.

In professing my own love for my home, I hope I got you guys to think about some of the things that make you excited about going home. As much as we form ties with the people and spaces here in Davis, the area where we grew up in, and spent possibly up to 18 years of our life, will always have a fond place in our hearts.

One other important aspect of the holiday season that I would like to address is giving back. It is freezing cold this winter and some people don’t have the money and resources in order to adequately stay warm. You remember those times when you would walk around the neighborhood with your AP biology class caroling for cans? We should bring some of that spirit back, even though it’s hard when we barely have enough food to feed ourselves. So this season, try to give back through an organization that affects a community you care about, whether it’s one in your hometown or somewhere else.

To tell NICOLE NELSON why you’re excited to go home, email her at nsnelson@ucdavis.edu.

Graphic by Jennifer Wu

 

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