Although I grew up in Albuquerque and graduated from West Mesa High School, I was desperate to leave the state when I moved further north for college.
Although it has a rich history and Native American culture, many people fail to realize that Albuquerque is in the middle of the desert in New Mexico. You can drive to the mountains on the outskirts of town, but the city itself is on desert land. With so many excruciatingly hot summers in New Mexico, I was excited for cooler weather up north. I would have never expected to miss the heat in Albuquerque after being away for several years. When I graduated from college, I started looking for jobs in Albuquerque so I could move back to my hometown and be near my friends and family again. Since cannabis was recently legalized statewide in New Mexico, I was even more eager to get back to the city than I would be to begin with. In recent years I have read about the various Native American tribes located through the city, including the several Apache tribes and the Navajo Nation. Old Town Albuquerque is dominated by shops and businesses owned by various Native American locals who live in the city. There are caves east of the city where you can see prehistoric stone art that has been preserved for tens of thousands of years. If you want entertainment, you can catch a concert at the Sunshine Theater, which was originally Albuquerque’s very first movie theater when it was opened in 1924. I’m proud of Albuquerque and it’s rich history, both culturally and anthropologically.