Small town feel with progressive diversity

I spent my first day in Costa Mesa on a bike ride with my older

brother and I couldn’t have imagined a better way to acquaint myself

with the city.

We rode all through the bluffs, down to Talbert Park, along the

riverbed and then up to Vista Park, where my love affair with Costa

Mesa began. Standing in the park, at the edge of the city, provided

me with a breathtaking view of the Coast.

Since I had just moved here from Chicago, I had never before seen

anything so beautiful and I knew I would never want to live anywhere

else ever again. Through the years, my visits to Vista Park became

more frequent, so it’s no wonder it quickly became my favorite spot

in Costa Mesa. I would run there with my cross-country team and do

stretches while admiring the coast or drive past it everyday during

lunchtime as I would head down to Carl’s Jr. with a car full of

friends.

As seasons changed, so did the appearance of the park. However,

one thing would always remain the same, there were always people of

all shapes, colors and sizes sharing and enjoying its beauty. The

park, to me, represented the best characteristics of Costa Mesa, the

diversity, the tolerance and the closeness of the community. You

could travel around the world 10,000 times, but never would you find

another place where such diversity is so embraced by the community.

I find it amazing that Costa Mesa has integrated a world-class

shopping plaza into the city while simultaneously maintaining a

small-town feel. I love being able to watch the Bolshoi Ballet at the

South Coast Repertory Theatre and then return to my home just a few

minutes away, strap on my roller blades and cruise around Tanager

Park. I love being able to take classes at one of the highest-rated

community colleges in the country.

I love spending my summers riding the Tilt-O-Whirl and gaping in

awe at the world’s largest horse at the Orange County Fair. I love

that when I run into members of the City Council or school board,

they always seem to have time to stop and chat with me. As a former

member of the Advisory Council of Teens for Costa Mesa, I love the

city’s dedication to improving itself with the help of all of its

residents, even those that maybe play their music too loud or would

prefer to rebel against authority rather than cooperate with it.

Most of all, I loved attending Costa Mesa’s “Best Kept Secret,”

Estancia High School, where I learned more than what was written in

our textbooks and where I was given incredible amounts of support and

encouragement that helped me excel both inside and outside the

classroom. I love how Costa Mesa has come alive in just a short 50

years and established itself as a balanced and diverse community.

Now, as I prepare to head off to the East Coast for college, I can

only hope that I will settle in a community a fraction as wonderful

and alive as Costa Mesa.