Written by by David Huerta

Valencia Park

V alencia Park is the place to be, in my opinion. It is my memorable place and will be as for long as I live. It's right behind Valencia Park Elementary. Although I recently moved close to the park in 2007, I have a countless number of memories because I go to the park multiple times every single week. Valencia Park is a very simple park, located behind a school, and is basically a field of grass with two softball fields. There is a canyon, with many inter winding paths and steep uneven slopes, and stairs leading to the street behind the park. My brothers, my friends, and I go to this park four to five times a week every week during spring, summer, and fall. We love to play soccer. I've played hundreds of games at this park. I love to run quickly with the ball, and weave myself through everyone in random patterns with a certain grace, and a certain feeling. I traverse the field without ever touching the ground, the wind blows against my face, and sweat drips, streams, gushes off my face. The ball spins between my legs and I kick it straight towards the goal, scoring for my team.

The park and my passion for soccer keeps me in shape physically and mentally. It doesn't have a playground yet so many people come here. The best time to go to this park is weekdays in the evening, and on weekends all day long. You can get there by using the stairs on the corner of 58th and Churchward Street or through the front entrance on Valencia Parkway. A sight you always see is a park full of people of different ages, cultures, and ethnicities playing a variety of sports. This is my favorite place to be because I've had so much fun and made so many memories here. I have spent time with friends there just kicking it. I've walked through the canyon, looked at rabbits pass by me with fear, had my legs scratched and cut on cacti, jumped over deceitful bushes, and I've gotten lost in the canyon as if it were a maze with a prize at the end. I've used card-board and plastic lids and slid down a hill. I've seen my friend break both bones in his leg while playing soccer. I've played soccer in the early morning and in the evening, engulfed in complete darkness. I've played soccer with trash cans as goals, homemade nets, and later some soccer nets I got from my middle school (that the P.E. teacher gave to me). Once, me and my cousin created a few miniature rockets and launched them in the park.

This park represents a lot to our community. The park is full of people most of the week on days that the weather permits. You can see people playing baseball, people playing multiple games of soccer, kids riding bikes, and occasionally people playing golf, jogging, flying kites, or launching rockets. Walking through this park you can feel a cool breeze pass by you, you can see so many people enjoying themselves, you can hear screams, cries, yells of laughter and glee, and you can almost taste the sweet grass and sweat that you smell from everywhere around you.This park is a place to let go and enjoy yourself, a place to stay fit and exercise in. This park is where anyone can go to forget their problems, to ignore their pain and suffering, to have fun, to socialize, to stay fit and to enjoy themselves all for no fee at all, and this is valuable especially in this tough economy.