Deep In The Heart

As I grew up, my family went on tons of trips. Whether it was to Galveston, only 45 minutes away, or to Ecuador, we were taking pictures all along. My dad's obsession with capturing moments from our lives was sometimes embarrassing but I understood where he was coming from. He told me he wished he had all the memories from his childhood captured, and that he was hopefully doing us a favor. And now I understand, because now I can remember all the fun times we had together. My sister and I were always the focus of my parents. Sometimes we fought, because we were so close in age, but everyone in my family loved each other.

Houston is one of the largest cities in the nation. It is super diverse and multifaceted... there's one thing for sure though--there's never a shortage of things to do.

My family would visit Space Center Houston, the Houston Zoo, Hermann Park, the Houston IMAX & Museum of Natural Science, George Planetarium, The Houston Galleria, Children's Museum, Astrodome, Toyota Center, Houston Arboretum, Downtown Aquarium, Kemah Boardwalk, and Moody Gardens-- and that's only some of it. I have great memories of all of these spectacular places. Each restaurant and shop you go into is filled with friendly Houstonians. 

My grade school was near my house, and most of the students that went there lived right around me. I did not think Houston was "thaaat" big just yet. But with every year that passed on, I explored more and more of Houston. My freshman year of high school I was introduced to 249 other girls at my all-girls college preparatory academy. Girls at this school were from all over Houston--encompassing 15 zip codes. I thought it was crazy that I was driving 30 minutes to school, but there were some girls who traveled 2 HOURS. I was just beginning to realize how diverse Houston was. I wasn't overwhelmed at all, I wanted to meet new people. Once I found out how big Houston was, I then realized how small it was. Everyone was connected. Friends who knew your friends from middle school, parents that went to the same colleges--Houston was one huge network. 

Other than the girls I met at my high school, I met people from some of the other Houston high schools. Of course, each high school had a different reputation. But it was interesting to see how these stereotypes played out. Houston became some sort of huge encyclopedia to me, full of information. 




Here are a few fun facts about Houston: 
Population - 2,099,451
43.6% of the population is Hispanic
Beyonce Knowles, George Foreman, ZZ Top, and Vince Young are all from Houston
Nickname - "The Bayou City"
Houston is recognized worldwide for its energy industry--particulary for oil and natural gas--as well as for biomedical research and aeronautics.
Houston has sports teams for every major professional league, except the National Hockey League.