An Open Letter to Pacific Palisades

By JULIA TORRES | Intern

What feels like home to you? You can choose the low-hanging fruit: a house, a neighborhood, a person, even.

Don’t get me wrong—these are entirely valid answers that hold significant weight. They are the building blocks that allow us to view life in our own distinctive perspectives.

I’d argue, though, that there must be something foundational to the inexplicably tender sentiment that we feel for these tangible aspects of our lives.

As a college student who no longer lives in the same house, same neighborhood or with the same family that I consider to be my unique version of home, there is still something comfortingly familiar about UCLA. Perhaps we should ponder the often elusive infrastructure of what makes Pacific Palisades unique.

To me, home is made up of the interactions we take for granted on a daily basis.

Spending some time in the Palisades for Thanksgiving break, here are a few cherished interactions I observed that, to me, exemplify what it means to be a part of our community:

• A friendly wave between neighbors on a walk around the neighborhood.
• A dinner invitation to welcome a new family.
• Linked arms and laughter at the annual Turkey Trot.
• Willing hands to help friends put up new decorations and take down old ones.
• Warm hugs between friends that haven’t seen each other in far too long.
• Freshly baked sweets to help ease the bitterness of loss and grief.
• Intentional questions that pry for genuine answers.
• Group celebrations for an individual’s achievements.

In retrospect, I presume that the underlying sentiment between these moments is mutual respect and compassion.

I believe that this is the key to connecting every street and neighborhood in the Palisades: a general desire for each other’s well being. Growing up among a community that has demonstrated this key value in every aspect of their life has encouraged me to continue to search for similar relationships as I go through college.

Even as I create a greater physical distance between myself and the Highlands, I will continue to find home and solace in the unfamiliar.