I worked hard all June and by the first day of July I saved up enough money to buy my very own 20-inch Sunday brand, matte black BMX bike. As I walked my new bike out of the poorly lit bike shop the light from the bright summer sun blinded me for a split second. I looked up and took a deep breath. I only had one thing in mind, meeting up with my friends downtown. Every day I woke up around 11am  slipped on my red sneakers and met up with my friends at our local skatepark in the heart of downtown with nothing but time and a few dollars in my pocket. The best thing to do in a small town with nothing but steep roads is to use them to your advantage. Hill bomb hunting might be my favorite thing to do. Hill bomb hunting is when you ride around looking for the most mighty, steep, and scary roads to bomb down. The rush you get when riding down a monster downhill is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I first learned to ride a bike in second grade.I saw my older siblings riding their bike and got teased for not being able to. I started out by holding onto a chain link fence that surrounded my house. I slowly pushed myself off and taught myself how to balance. My grandpa grew up in Napa, too.He skated because his older brother was doing it to get around and he wanted to keep up. After he learned the basics it turned into a way he and his friends could not only get around but a way for them to have fun together and hang out. We all went from grabbing a fence for balance to hanging out everyday after school with places to go and things to do.

– Julio Venegas

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant