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Gloria Arias

Professor Beadle

English 115

27 September 2017

Monsters in California

The spaces in which we choose to live our lives have monsters hidden beneath their

surfaces. Space is often defined as an area that is available or unoccupied but it's much more than

that. Physical space is all around us. When we enter a classroom, that is a space of its own.

Monsters are often seen as mythical creatures from folklore and fairytales but they live in the

modern world society among us. They are not simply monsters under our beds; they embody our

fears. California has a monster of its own; it appears every now and then in smaller forms but

were long overdue for the big one that'll rock us to our core. We fear earthquakes because there

is no pre-warning to them. If there is any indication that an earthquake is about to occur, it is

seconds before and leaves little to no time for preparation. The monster in California, the

earthquake, unveils peoples fear of the unknown, how much they value loved ones and

possessions, and how in this situation we are all equal because earthquakes don't care who we

are, they are simply acts of nature.

I've lived my entire life in California, I grew up here, I have suffered here, I have

experienced joy here. California is my home and will possibly be my death. When I was about

the age of 12, I remember sitting on the couch watching Spongebob, when I felt the floor beneath

my feet begin to tremble. I sat there frozen, watching my surroundings in disbelief. In public

school they have drills in preparation of earthquakes or fires, but that's mostly what they always

stay as, just drills. They teach us to crawl underneath our desks and cover our heads. But sitting
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on that couch, where was I to flee? They say not to panic and to remain calm, so do I flee to the

nearest table or underneath a doorway structure or do I remain where I am and just let fate be?

All of this occurred to me in a matter of seconds, but what if I didn't even have seconds to

process? To my luck, it was not a big earthquake and there was no after shock. I was okay and

this sense of relief flowed through my body knowing I was going to be okay, at least for another

day.

Earthquakes don't have alarms that'll wake you at the moment's notice. Whether youre

ready and aware, or neither, earthquakes have a way of sneaking up on you. There's been

instances when an earthquake occurs while I'm asleep and I wake up with no knowledge of its

occurrence. It's like it never happened. But then the next day, someone typically asks if I felt it or

if it woke me but I say no and we continue with our typical conversations and laugh. But what if

I hadn't woken up the next morning? What if the earthquake had made the furniture fallen on me

and crushed me? What if the ceiling had collapsed on top of me? Looking back, I can think of all

the possible ways I could've died. As Ted Genoways, former editor of the prestigious Virginia

Quarterly Review states, Imagining what we cannot truly imagine, we brace ourselves for the

worst (Genoways 130). When an earthquake occurs, we do not know what to expect and so our

minds wonder about the situations that we can find ourselves in. There are limitless ways in

which we can be affected and we know none for sure. We can only imagine what lies ahead of

us. Our future is that which is obscure and all that we can be certain of is the present. There

won't always be minutes or even seconds, and that's what makes this monster so monstrous. It

has an element of surprise and it's level of disaster is unknown until it is happening and is being

felt by all those in range.

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California over the years has experienced minor earthquakes but were also long overdue

for that major earthquake to hit. The three major earthquakes in Mexico in the month of

September, 2017, have served as reminders to California residents that it's just a matter of time

before we have one of our own. Our last earthquake occurred in 1994 on January 17. Also

known as the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, which had its epicenter in Reseda and had a duration

of approximately 10-20 seconds.

Some would say that the occurrence of a big earthquake in California isn't truly

monstrous because it isn't always an active thought in the minds of California residents. It isn't an

active fear. But in fact, what makes this event so monstrous is that we can see its occurrence in

other parts of world. We can see what the level of destruction that this monster can do and given

the fact that the San Andreas fault runs right through California, our level of devastation might

be worse. They serve as reminders that we are not immune. If earthquakes occurred frequently

with huge magnitudes, people would still be afraid but their level of fear would not be as great as

that of now. There is comfort in knowing but what if there is no way of knowing, then what?

And so, we are left with nothing besides a ticking clock that no one knows when it'll go off.

Genoways states, This fear of the unknown, of that future that lies just part the horizon, has

been with us always (Genoways 130). As humans we have always been afraid of the uncertainty

in our lives. Not knowing what comes next and what lies ahead of our lives and our decisions

brings about great anxiety. It's like sticking your hand out in a box with a blindfold on, not

knowing what you're going to find.

When an earthquake hits, the monster not only causes destruction to all in its path but

unveils peoples fears and their values that they hold dearest. When an earthquake occurs theres

no way of telling where you'll be whether it's in your home, on a major freeway, in a department
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store, in the park, the possibility of your whereabouts are almost endless. You could be miles

away from its epicenter and barely feel a thing or you could be at its very center. And that's

where the fear kicks in because your chances of survival rely on your whereabouts. In some

places your chances will be higher than others. Genoways asserts that, how you react to the

monster, real or imagined, says a lot about who we are (Genoways 130). Our first thoughts may

be about whether well be okay, or well wonder about the safety of our loved ones, or well

worry about how well go forward if we find that our homes and possessions have now gone to

rubble. But each mindset is telling in its own way. A person who's first thoughts are about their

own well-being is demonstrative of a person who's independent and values their life, a person

who worries about their family is someone who values the lives of others, and a person who

worries about possessions is one who feels closest to these things and values material. The

occurrence of earthquakes unveil to us what we value most and how deeply we feel about things

and people. When I was about 13 years old, my mother began leaving me at home alone while

she worked the graveyard shift. There were times when I would tell her that I hated her and her

very presence annoyed me. But then an earthquake hit one night and I was all alone and had no

form of reaching her; I sobbed all night and couldnt sleep. Its in these instances in which your

once estranged sibling now becomes your first thought and worry. We go through our lives often

disregarding accomplishments, people, and material objects but when it hits, we are reminded

about how much these things matter. What role they've played in our lives and how significant

they have been.

When an earthquake hits, we are at its discretion. We have no say in what it'll take or

who it'll take from us. It could be your neighbor, the clerk at the bank, your sister, parent, your

home, your franchise; there's no telling who it'll be because it can be anyone and anything. We
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do not get to decide, wish, or hope. We are helpless, in the hands of the monster. We value

control so much and we try to control as much of our lives as we can but this is not an instant in

which we can control what happens. The monster takes away our control and so we are left just

to take its wrath. Although this monster stirs up fear within us, it is also a messiah of consolation

for many. (Davis 47) We have so much that goes on in our individual lives and this monster

affects us all equally. Earthquakes as much as we fear them, they are a familiar monstrosity that

we know we can face. In all of the ambiguity of our lives, earthquakes for Californians are

nothing new.

Works Cited

Davis, Mike. Monsters and Messiahs. Monsters: A Bedford Spotlight Reader, edited by

Andrew J. Hoffman, MacMillan Education, 2017, pp. 47.

Genoways, Ted. Here be Monsters. Monsters: A Bedford Spotlight Reader, edited by

Andrew J. Hoffman, MacMillan Education, 2017, pp. 130.

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