Ever since I can remember I have lived in Los Angeles. From Downtown L.A to West Hollywood and even down to South Central. The smells and sights vary thoughout the cities. Food, dirt, homeless, rainy days. Rainy days in L.A are rare but the smell is horrendous. Just like rainy days, earthquakes are very rare here.
In 2009, I lived on Downtown L.A. I didn't enjoy living there at such a young age. When I look back, I remember the beautiful views from our window that overlooks Pershing Square, the metro station right below. From the 9th floor it all looked amazing. From the very top of the building where the pool is was spectacular. My father had rented this loft, which was only a huge studio space. As an architect he had already planned to design the place. It was my sister, my father, and me. Over a matter of time, he built each of our rooms in the perfect way that fit all of us.
One Saturday morning, I woke up earlier than usual. As a young child of 11 years, I always hoped to use the Mac Laptop we owned. My room was two-stories, thanks to the loft's high ceilings. I stepped down the latter and walked down, pass the kitchen, into my fathers room. I looked around. His desk, his closet, but i could not seem to find the laptop. I walked out of his room and stepped up onto the platform where the living rooms is. As I look out the window I see people walking, crossing streets, and sitting at the park. I get up and I lay on the leather couch. It wasn't that comfortable but it was decent. Suddenly, I feel the building sway, from side to side. I immediately stand on my two feet. I was in shock because I had no idea about what was going on. As I stand there, my sister runs out of her room. I hear her say "What was that?!" "Why were you shaking my bed?" It was an earthquake. I have never felt an earthquake and I didn't know how to react. Especially in a tall building like the one we lived in. My sister and I looked out the window and we saw crowds of people at the park. We figure that when earthquakes happen here, it is mandatory to get out of the building as soon as possible.
As we went down the stairs, we noticed there was not many people going down anymore, we were a little late. But of course, there's all types of people that live in our building. It is a very diverse crowd. There was people with their pets and people without shoes. As we are crossing the street to the park this man in his late 20's was asking people if they wanted to buy drugs. Only in L.A. people are still out there trying to hustle their way through life. Especially, during a natural disaster. The smell of grass and dog poo over comes my nostrils as we step up the steps into the park. We walked around wondering what to do until we noticed the park slowly have less people as they walked back to their homes. We saw all kinds of people. In their pj's, work clothes and uniform, even half ready for the day. In Los Angeles, there is always something going on. It is interesting to experience how a crowd of people react in the case of a natural disaster.
Earthquakes are rare in L.A. This was the first one I ever experienced living in a loft or anywhere. I can say it is one of the scariest things. The building doesn't just shake, It sways from side to side as if its about to tumble down. Los Angeles is my home and every time I think of Downtown L.A. it reminds me of that day. It is the only place where you can buy drugs right after an earthquake, which is very amusing to me. As much as I admire L.A. I wish to travel to other destinations and come back and love it more than ever.
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