Pelayo1

Denise Pelayo
Jennifer Rodrick
English 115
12, November 2016
The Effect of Los Angeles
Los Angeles is the city of opportunity, people come with high expectations. Some
succeed and many do not. This city is very divers, making it a very welcoming place for anyone.
Los Angeles does not have a specific culture, it is more of a place where anyone can be who they
want and discover who they truly are. In order to discover who you are here you have to be able
to adapt to the city. The city is constantly changing resulting in everyone having to be able to
adjust quickly to change. LA living contributes to the peoples identities in many ways; it makes
them more aware if the world, different than others, and easier adjustable to different
environments.
In the story Native to the Place the author Lynell George is a result of how Los
Angeles shapes your identity. The author is a native. She is often described as not being "normal"
as in not fitting into the normal description of a Los Angeles Native. The normal is someone that
is outgoing and spontaneous. She is neither of those. She is someone that is the complete
opposite. The author states that how living here is a constant adaptation because the city is
always changing. She states "Part of it, perhaps, has to do with the region's fast-forward
evolution"(George 149). Meaning that there is always something new and you just have to roll
with it. The changes that have changed is that the city evolved from being a "horizontal pueblo"
to what it is now a modern Los Angeles. With these changes she has had to get use to the change.
The author mentions that she has had to get use to the constant deletion of history. " It is

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perpetual change I've gotten use to, history often razed, painted over, obscured, or simply
rewritten to be made "more grand" (George 151). This city is so divers that there is no tradition
as there would be found in many other countries, which is what makes Los Angeles so unique.
The author is a native yet she finds herself not be what is seen by others as being the Los Angeles
norm. This is because the city of LA is keeps evolving and she finds herself stuck in the past. The
author was more a person that kept things to herself but living in LA transformed to her to being
more open to everything, she became open minded.