Musings on San Francisco
By: Kayla Vokolek
Tags: Travel Writing, San Francisco, Culture, Travel, Cities

But I loved the space more when alone. It became easy to forget I was in a city and just wander where no one else was. Often, I’d hop on the 5 bus and get off at a random stop; any of them would be right next to the park. Throughout all my explorations, I found, among other sights: a community of raccoons, remnants from the 1915 World’s Fair, and a very friendly Jeff Goldblum (while filming The World According to Jeff Goldblum).

I couldn’t ask for a better location to attend college in. I was part of the dragon in the widely-attended Chinese New Year Parade, attended my first Pride with friends, got my first tattoo on Haight Street. And yet, despite there being so much to love about the city — beautiful nature walks, renowned museums, fascinating history — I’m not sure if I’d ever move back.

Underneath the dragon in the Chinese New Year Parade in 2018. Photo by friend Gino Abrajano, used with his permission.

It just seemed like my time was running out. The tech industry has increasingly encroached upon the city, and while that does bring prosperity for some, it has left so many behind. It’d be difficult at best to make a decent living after graduation if I didn’t want to work for a startup and/or tech company— and at least I had a home to return to. In 2019, San Francisco “counted twice as many homeless people — 17,595 people, a 30 percent jump from the previous year.” 37% of the unhoused population is Black in a city that is about 5–6% Black. Criticism can definitely be launched for some of SF’s hypocrisies in liberalism, although I’m sure that unfortunately, similar comments could be made about many cities with huge wealth disparities.

It might not be livable for many. But I want so badly to return, too, if only for a few days. Especially with how much COVID-19 is emptying cities’ inhabitants and businesses, I worry I won’t recognize the place I once knew better than almost any. A couple years ago, returning to SF after being away for just a few months was jarring, making me realize how constantly San Francisco is changing. I’m more familiar with Los Angeles, and for all the discourse over both cities’ pros and cons, I will propose there is a comfort in L.A.’s relative consistency, always the same sprawling stretch of freeway and palm trees and buildings, too vast to notice most changes.

Then again, San Francisco seems a little more exciting in that regard, having undergone many major transformations in its existence — Ohlone land, Spanish settlement, Gold Rush base, the “Paris of the West” in the late 19th century, center of the hippie movement, and now tech hub. In a way I don’t see in most of L.A., San Francisco’s neighborhoods have their own distinct personalities, microcosms within the peninsula. However, there are comparatively few, making it even more of a tragedy when one is gentrified. San Francisco is animated and impressive, but seems more precarious in its identity. I think I can relate; life seems more static, for better and for worse, when I’m not there, or maybe I’m being overly dramatic and that’s just what college is anywhere.

I hope to return soon, or as soon as the pandemic allows, when my schedule and finances allow. I’ll be sure to get a croissant from Arsicault Bakery, visit every bookstore I can, of course walk through Golden Gate Park, and hope that I, or San Francisco, haven’t changed too much.