my hometown

Hello unseen audience,

I thought I would give a (very) short introduction to my hometown, Torrance (aka t town)!

My parents both lived in the area of Torrance / Gardena since their early teens and got married in their mid twenties. Thus, I've lived my first 18 years in Torrance. It is the place that I call home.

Despite the fact that I hype it up a lot, there is actually not much to do in Torrance. If anything, I usually spend time with people in neighboring cities like Gardena and Redondo. There are like 3 hip places that people go to hang out (aka Kansha, The Boy and the Bear, and Green Door [none of which are actually in Torrance..]) - so if you go to said hip places, there's a pretty high chance that you'll run into someone from high school that you'd rather not see. But putting that aside..

One thing that I appreciate about Torrance / Gardena is the lovely amount of Japanese Americans that live in the neighborhood, which lends itself to a plethora of Japanese markets and restaurants, which brings me a lot of joy. There's a lovely Japanese place called Kansha Creamery, which is my favorite ice cream parlor on the planet and I definitely hype it up way too much (but it's so delicious so how could I not).

Another thing special to Torrance is the Del Amo mall, which is the 5th largest mall in the nation. I remember in middle/high school, I would feel really cool hanging out there when I had the chance. It was recently remodeled.. so I honestly don't know where any stores are anymore / I don't want to go since there's way too many people, which makes parking difficult.

The only other interesting thing that happens is the farmer's market on Tuesdays and Saturdays at Wilson Park, which I frequented a lot growing up. I would get a lot of fruit samples and buy a honey stick for 50 cents. There's was also this man who always played the steel drum near the fruits. I should probably tip him after all these years of enjoying his performances.

Finally, the thing that places Torrance so close to my heart are the friends that I so dearly cherish. From my childhood to high school days, there are so many people that I have been able to share life with in this rather bland city. Although I do really look forward to visiting Kansha on my return home, it is definitely those catch up conversations that bring my heart joy and satisfaction.

I think that I will be returning back home after I graduate college, and I look forward to the many new adventures that my old hometown holds for me.

bye bye until next time ^