San Jose Case

The smell of humidity and slightly warmed soil filled the air of a beautiful July day in San Jose. Seeing hundreds of youth and adult alike, ranging from ages thirteen to thirty, talking and laughing as though they were the one and the same. The buzz of conversation and the sweet sound of laughter filled the air. This is a day that I would never forget.

In early June, my church set a socializing activity for all of the youth in the districts of Northern and Southern California for July 26, 2009. It was the weekend of my church's 95th anniversary and the church administration thought that it would be good to bring the districts of Northern California and Southern California together to emphasize the unity of our church.

All that everyone was talking about was the socializing. My friends and I were so excited. We planned outfits. We planned our rides and where to meet when we got to San Jose. I secretly wondered if this bonding activity would live up to everyone's expectations. I hoped that it would but that nagging pessimist in me told me to not to expect much.

And finally, when it seemed like we couldn't wait any longer, the day finally came. Waking up, I realized what day it was and began to smile, expecting a wonderful day with my church family. The first half of the day went by in a blur. The clock seemed to go slower and slower as each minute passed, as I waited in anticipation for 3 o' clock to strike on the clock.

When 3 o'clock struck, I could hardly contain my excitement. We piled into my friend's car and we were off. The car was full of some of my closest friends: P.A., Miah, Jeremy, Marlo, Rachel, me and P.A.'s parents. We were buzzing with excitement and happiness.

I thought for a moment and asked, "Is this the first time we had an activity like this?"

They thought for a moment and P.A. answered, "I think so. I don't remember any activity like this."

I reveled in the fact that I was a part of my church's history. I was lost in conversation on the way to San Jose. Next thing I knew, I looked out the window and there we were! Now let me say, being a Daly City baby, I should've expected that San Jose was actually in summer while Daly City is still stuck under the clouds. It was hot to us Daly City kids. The smell of humidity filled the air. As we jumped out of the car, we were suddenly hit by the overwhelming heat. We gathered under the shade next to the San Jose Locale's Function Hall and waited for the rest of our friends.

When they arrived, we walked toward the registration table with hesitation. We hoped that we wouldn't be separated but of course we were. The leaders of the socializing separated us by age groups, which wasn't too bad but we were separated from a majority of our friends. I stood with the age group