Meet Chomnapp—Student, Runner, (Story 20/40)
This year, we’re sharing 40 stories of community in honor of our 40th anniversary working in City Heights!
These stories range from long-form interviews to short videos to captioned photos, but all of them focus on a City Heights community member’s perspective on life here. Today’s story focuses on Chomnapp, a young man who grew up here and has found a lot of joy in this community. Here’s Chomnapp:
“Growing up in City Heights, I’ve learned that our community is made up of many different cultures, ethnicities, and traditions. Being part of this community has made me realize that, even though we are different from one another, we still come together as one. Attending Crawford High School helped me understand all the different types of food and languages from all over the country. Which is one of the many things that make us unique and stand out in San Diego.”
For Chomnapp, like our colleague Coach Des who interviewed him, time with the City Heights Runners has informed his understanding of the community in beautiful way:
“Having the ability to run around the neighborhood is a blessing. The energy of people cheering us on is unexplainable, and it reminds us that what we’re doing is worth it.
Personally, running is a time for me to step away from society and focus on my mental health. After running for many years, it has taught me self-discipline, responsibility, and time management which could all be used in our future lives.”
A big shout out to our intern, Des Reyes, for interviewing Chomnapp! Do you know any passionate City Heights community members or allies? Please put us in touch, we’d love to share their perspective or story of what makes this community special to them!