I have to say that the last place I thought I would be living is D.C. Yes, it's the nation's capital and Barack Obama is a resident here. However, most of my memories were of DC in the 80's. No one wanted to live here and most people who worked here, lived in Virginia or Maryland. Even though things are changing, DC still gets a bad rap. When I first moved here a lot of people advised me not to because of the "dangers" of living in the city. I've lived here for almost fours years now and I must say I love it (except I can rarely find a place to park on my street after 7:30 p.m. and I live next door to the fire department).
Gentrification is happening. However, there are still pockets of DC (my street for example) that remind me that gentrification hasn't totally destroyed my neighborhood and I'm glad. I love the fact that my neighborhood is diverse in every possible way. My street is a daily reminder that while most people would like to live in "cookie cutter" neighborhoods with people who look like them, dress like them and have the same income and values as them; the reality is that our world is very diverse. The more we try to turn our values into what we think others should have, the more we miss out on the dynamic and beautiful world in which we live.
“The real challenge of our aquarium, “Life’s Aquarium,” is to learn how to live together without having to live alike.” -Mahmoud El Kati
