My name is Lexus L. and I have been living in Carson, CA, in the same house, since I was three-years-old. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I truly started seeing the harsh realities that occur right in my city.
     

I started driving to school my junior year of high school. To get to my school, I take the 110 South. When coming back home from school, taking the 110 North, my particular exit has a stop light rather than a stop sign. Here at this light, I often get stuck waiting for the light to turn green, and right next to me, sitting on the ramp, dirty and hungry, is the same man I see almost everyday. When coming home from school, I see this man sit on this freeway exit ramp, asking people for money. Unfortunately, there are a lot of homeless people around my city. I once worked with a program than personally packed and handed out lunches to homeless people. If I were mayor, I would start a program similar to this. I would fund a program that sets posts throughout the city and works to feed those who cannot feed themselves.
       

Another problem I see in my city is the escalated gang related violence. Just these past few years alone, I know of two people who were shot in this city, both of whom were students of Carson High School at the time, both of whom had no gang relations. Carson High School is a mere 3 minutes from my house. My two older cousins, older brother and sister, and little sister all attend or have attended this school. Some of my friends and relatives knew these two boys personally, played volleyball with them, hung out with them on a daily basis. Gang related violence is heartbreaking in itself. The fact that these two were so young and just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time really shows how it is all over the city. Not only has there been shootings, there has many other crimes around the city. I have seen it first hand. My father has had his bumper detached and stolen off of his car. My brother has had his door broken and his radio stolen. I have had my window bashed in and the contents in my car, all gone; my radio, personal items, and textbooks, all stolen. I live across the street from a middle school, a place that would seem to be safe, a place that should be safe. To fix this dilemma, I think there should be an increase of police rotations. They should be driving around the city throughout the day, monitoring the activities going on. There should be police rotating at night, especially in the areas that have been heavily targeted in the past. The 10 pm curfew should be enforced more strictly. These measures should be taken to make the city more safe.
       

There are a lot of things around the city that need improvement. If I were mayor of my city, I would start with these two major points. Afterwards, I would work towards smaller goals to create me gradual change, but change nevertheless. Small steps of progress will lead to a great overall change.