fbpx

#myLAcommute I’m on my own now

#myLAcommute asks locals where they\'re coming from, where they\'re going and why.
[additional-authors]
September 11, 2015

ALONDRA POWELL

I read novels when I’m on the bus. Right now I’m reading Endless Nights.

I’m 19 years old. I’m from South Central Los Angeles. I moved to the Baldwin Hills area last month. I like it because I have my own apartment now. I was in foster care for 14 years. I worked hard and I saved up money. Now I’m on my own. The Department of Social Services helped me—and now I work there helping others like me.

I study science at Long Beach City College. I want to become a chemist. I’ve liked science and chemistry since I was a little girl. My family told me I wasn’t smart enough, but I have a lot of other supporters who think I can do it.

MLK Boulevard to Santa Rosalia Drive

#myLAcommute is a project of Zócalo Public Square.

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

Michael Douglas Memoir, ‘One Helluva Ride,’ Is a Helluva Read

At 82, Douglas has survived cancer, is married to the love of his life, Catherine Zeta-Jones, has been in iconic films including “Wall Street” and “Basic Instinct” and grew up with the pressure of having a famous father, the legendary actor Kirk Douglas.

A Burst of Inspirational Art in Hadassah

What makes them special, in addition to their ethereal beauty, is that four of the paintings are of women; two others, while abstract, appear to reference the female.

Jon Polin Wants Answers, Not Revenge, Three Years After Oct. 7

One day before the three-year anniversary of the Oct. 7th attacks, the father of slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin called for a national commission of inquiry, spoke about what comes next for him and Rachel, and said punishment for Israel’s failures is not what he seeks.

Making Jewish Fiction New Again

In a climate of anti-Jewish censorship, a new fiction imprint from Wicked Son will play a part in determining the future of Jewish fiction in America.

Abraham and the Tower of Babel: What Is the Connection?

Human beings are fraught with many inclinations, some good, some bad, including the desire for particular societal outcomes, grand visions, monolithic ones — exemplified by the Tower of Babel — not guided by Godly right and just action.

Pray Go On

I’ve never been able to pray, whatever that is. I remember trying to back when I was a kid in church but always kept hearing TV theme songs in my head.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.