I was born in Los Angeles, California in 1968. I spent my entire youth growing up in Huntington Beach, CA, during the 1970’s and 80’s. It was a privileged life that I am profoundly grateful for, especially when I look at the world today. I came from a mostly typical middle class family of 4 kids. Honestly, my family started with a teenage pregnancy, and was dysfunctional at best. No, the life of privilege I am so grateful for was the time and place of the world I lived in. Huntington Beach was still a sleepy little beach town of aging hippies and surfers.
We used to leave our doors unlocked, day and night. As kids, the neighborhood gang would gather in the morning, play all day, and often not return home until dinner. We would usually even meet up for a swim afterwards. That’s how kids were. We didn’t have devices. There was no internet. We were constantly active, and constantly interacting. I graduated from Ethel Dwyer Middle School in 1982, and Huntington Beach High School in 1986.
I attended Boston University in the Fall of 1986, and ultimately earned a B.A. in International Relations. I put myself through B.U. with literally no financial support. That meant carrying a full-time course load, working a work-study job at the Geddes Foreign Language Center, and hustling at night so I could pay the rent and eat. In those days, “eating” meant cigarettes, coffee, beer, and the occasional meal, in that order of priority.
Despite being a fish out of water, and really insecure about my circumstances, I consider those to be some wonderful and deeply shaping years. Boston will always be my home away from home, and I will always have a special connection to the city and its people. Boston has an energy like no other. It is steeped in hundreds of years of American history, and has been home to some of American history’s best minds. To me, it is an intellectual stronghold, and holds the pulse of America.
To contact Rondym Kiefe, please email gratefulobserver@gmail.com.