Map by Michael McGrath

Ubatuba

mmcgrath6191 — 2024-10-09 22:12:01 UTC

This place in Brazil is important to me because it is where I was as a young baby because my mom was still getting her citizenship to the United States and I needed to be with my mom as a baby, for obvious reasons. I don't remember the place I was as a baby as much as I do the time me and my family went back to visit my maternal grandmother and grandfather. This place has many beautiful beaches that I remember splashing in the waves of the shore. Going to the weird little grocery stores and buying interesting cereals and food to eat and playing soccer at the beach were some memories I have in my most recent visit to Brazil around 8 years ago. Ubatuba is culturally significant because it is where my grandmother owns her apartment and where we went to live for some of the time I spent in Brazil.

Sedona, AZ

mmcgrath6191 — 2024-10-10 21:44:56 UTC

My mother has been planning to move to Sedona for the last couple years, which means I have visited there multiple time (I believe 4). This place has a magical feeling because the beautiful red rocks surround the peaceful city. When I think of Sedona, I think of the red rocks and the hot summers and the snowy winters. I have many memories of hiking and eating at Chocolatree and going to Local Juicery with my mom. Sedona is where my mother will be moving in the next few months which is going to change my life because every few weeks I will be visiting her in Sedona, which will require me visiting the city by plane.

Island Village Drive, Long Beach, CA

mmcgrath6191 — 2024-10-10 21:45:50 UTC

Island Village is important to me because it is where I have lived where the longest time period in my life and is where I currently live with my dad. This place is isolated on the border of Long Beach and Seal Beach, surrounded by the power plant, San Gabriel River, and a military base. Island Village is a gated community that I have many memories with like the fourth of July fireworks at the park, Halloween trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, and when I think of Island Village, I think of home, because that is the place in my life where I have spent the most time, by far. I am very connected to this place still because I still go there right after school every day. This location has untold stories of the times where I flooded the bathroom, made the fire alarm go off at 6 in the morning, and burnt my hand on the stove, but I still love this place. This location is where I culturally developed because we go to church every Thursday and Sunday.

Isabel Patterson Child Development Center, East Atherton Street, Long Beach, CA

mmcgrath6191 — 2024-10-10 22:08:45 UTC

This place is important to me because this is the preschool I went to. This preschool is not an ordinary preschool, it was a large open building and it was very free and let the kids do whatever they wanted for most of the time, you could do arts and crafts, play on the playground, or stay inside on the couch. This place was extremely amazing for me as a learning experience, and I remember memories like playing with the sand timers and hand painting and making friends there. When I think of this location I think of my dad and my friends that went here. I am connected to this place because it was a really amazing learning center that I have made great memories here. An untold story of this location is when I spun the lazy susan with a glass jar of markers and the jar flew off the table and shattered, and i started crying, and also when I wanted to show my dad a telescope I made out of paper towel roll. This location is where I learned and developed as a 3-4 year old and it holds a special place in my heart.