The Social Flower

I came to San Francisco five years ago with the dream to be independent, discover myself, and one day tell my grandchildren, "Your abuelita once lived in San Francisco." I made the big move when I was twenty-three years old and somehow those five years where a roller coaster of every fucking thing you can imagine living in a big city is worth. Now I am approaching the end of my twenties and  I can surely say I have earned my stripes living in this city. My first week in the city I was scammed for my apartment and  lost 3k.  I ended up living in my car for a few nights under the bay bridge intersection because I  refused to go back home.  I attended an over priced art school and after a year decided,  this isn't for me. Yes, I am an art school drop out but ironically I have a career compared to a few of my fellow art school buddies who graduated with honors. I lived in many places in the city in the five years I survived. From sharing rooms, renting a closet, and get

We all have that one year that breaks us, transforms us, or better yet, fucking molds us! This year I can say I became the Woman I saw getting lost in the fog of this cold and gloomy city. As the year is about to end in the next few days, I came to the realization that this year, I have changed in so many ways. I can say I am in the career path I have always dreamt off, got healthier which I will cover later one but the one thing I can gladly say is that I learned to love myself without having to love anyone else. The year I became a woman.(Photography by Allison Ekevara Kitpowsong). Last year was one of the worst years of my life. I lost my sister Gaby, I was battling breast cancer (I never came public about it), and I was hanging on a treat in a toxic relationship with a few people who had control over me. That year was a shit show. I wasn't happy, healthy, or satisfied with a lot and I promised myself after midnight that this year, I was going to change my life.

Everybody has their favorite snack. Whether its a couple of Hot Cheetos, sliced apples, or perhaps a even worse snack, men. We all love a good snack! Just enjoying my favorite snacks. I recently came into the realization that I might just love snacking and not want to commit to a serious relationship for a while. Fuck it, life is a buffet. It was a typical Sunday afternoon where I was doing a few publicity projects at work and perhaps worked 10+ hours.  I was sitting at a book reading I had created for one of the places I work while it hit me; maybe I am not meant to be in a relationship anymore. Author Micah Perks read a couple of short stories from her newest book, True Love and other Dreams of Miraculous Escape , during the event when a couple of women joined in for a very interesting but eye opening conversation. https://www.micahperks.com/ Micah was the married woman, another one was newly divorced, and one the last one was married to another wo

By Gardenia Zuniga-Haro I had come a long way from my first journalism days when I graduated high school to my mid twenties living in the big city. I have tried multiple  career paths such as police officer, film producer, but becoming a journalist was always a passion that to this day burns a fire in my heart.  I am still a work in progress. I can say I am proud I have accomplished a few articles for various publications such as Grabr, El Tecolote, and The Guardsman newspaper but my ultimate goal is to have my own publication. I can see myself having my own online publication where many other journalist who had many doors closed on their face like myself can use my  platform to share their columns, news, or even photojournalism stories. I still have to get the piece of paper that says my name, university, and have the signature of the dean who I will probably never meet however one thing I do not need is the EXPERIENCE in journalism. Last year I was fortunate to attend a jou

We all have heard the recent #metoo stories hundreds' of women have shared in the past few weeks after the recent  Hollywood scandals. They all had the topic of sexual harassment which 3 in 5 women have encountered by the age of 25 but what if we encountered this epidemic at a much younger age? I had my share of #metoo stories as a became a a woman, especially when I was working in the film industry trying to be a producer. I had a few Hispanic producers ask me to come to their hotel rooms to "seal the deal." I never thought getting on your knees was part of the  job application but I was   raised to have dignity and for that; I stopped pursuing my career in L.A. and moved to San Francisco. I know San Francisco is known for being a sexual city but to my surprise, I have received more respect there in the past 3 years I have lived here than in the few months I worked in L.A. I salute the women who shared their stories to the world. After debating for weeks and also

Summer time is all about the sun kissed beach days, pool parties with floating flamingos, and camp trips with the family but for me; Summer time was tragic! My summer started like any other,  filled with plans to visit my family and have fun under the sun but things took a tragic turn towards the end. The sunny summer I was living became a thunder storm as I received the worst Direct Message anyone could open via Instagram. It was my best friends little sister informing me that Gaby, whom I  loved like a sister had passed away that morning! I immediately thought it was a bad joke but my sky became dark and heavy as the thunder of truth arrived with the terrible news. Just like any storm, lighting stroked me as I answered the call that changed my life forever! Gabys mother, Myra was crying which such devastation that when she said, "Gaby passed away mija", I couldn't say anything other than, "No, no no! This is not happening!" I was in denial but hea