​On a sleepy stretch of Fair Oaks Avenue populated by construction supply outfits and utility plants, a tiny kitchen attached to a liquor store is producing some of Pasadena’s most reliably excellent Mexican food. The venerated Yuca’s Tacos and Burritos, which the Herrera family has been been operating out of a former shoeshine booth in a Hillhurst Ave parking lot since 1976 (Wrightson), opened their new Pasadena walk-up shortly after their outpost on Hollywood Blvd closed in 2017 (Elliott). Eighty-year-old Socorro Herrera, who goes by “Mama”, opened the original Yuca’s to pay for her daughters’ education. Today, Dora and Margarita run the business while Mama greets new customers, regulars, and fans at the old hut on Hillhurst (Wrightson).

By: Genova Linde

​The first book that I recall that most changed my view of the universe was; Is There Life After High School? I read this book when I was sixteen years old and living in Geneva, Nebraska. Prior to reading this book I held the belief that all people in this small town stayed there since no one ever seemed to move away. In my opinion, they lived shallow, boring, and mechanical lives. Most married other local people, had 2.5 children and worked in dead end jobs that most of them hated. Every day they lived the same endless cycle of existence. I felt doomed. Then I read this amazing book! It showed me a way out. Other people in similar situations shared their high school experiences and demonstrated how they broke free!

       The very first series or movie to really make me think and change my perception of the world was the movie About Time. When I first got to watch About Time I was in Suzhou, China around August of 2017. I was 16 around that time and it was movie night on a cold wintery night. I asked my friend if we could watch a movie on his laptop and asked whether he has any good movie recommendations to watch. His name was Hugo, and he was thinking about what movie would be great to watch and he told me, why don’t we watch this movie called About Time. I was confused as to what the movie was about, but he told me to just watch the movie and you’ll know. Before watching I didn’t really think much about time and just spent it mostly having fun and wasting it -- like just sitting on my bed with my phone all day while I could be doing much more productive and meaningful things.  I followed his instructions and kept my mouth shut until the movie ended. Little did I know that the movie would change the way I think about how time is a very precious and valuable thing and what time means to other people.

​         About 3 weeks ago I watched a documentary series on the famous rapper, Meek Mill, and his journey through our legal system. This man was in and out of jail starting as a teenager. This documentary, Free Meek, taught me about our criminal justice system in ways that were mind blowing and the documentary included some statistics that were mind-boggling. His documentary series changed my view of both our criminal justice system and even the judicial system. 

        This documentary took me back to when I was 16 and a junior in high school. I had a run in with an officer outside my friend’s house. I was parked outside waiting for him to come out so we could go eat. As I’m waiting a Los Angeles County Sheriff officer pulls up next to me asking what I was doing in this neighborhood and on this street at this time -- which was around 11pm. I told him I was waiting for my friend so we could go eat. He proceeded to ask me if I was selling or purchasing marijuana. I replied, “I don’t smoke dude.” This really upset the officer and that’s where it all started.