20 Signs You Grew Up In Walnut California
When we look back on our childhoods, it’s hard to differentiate the key things that make our hometowns unique. I mean, literally, everything looks similar until it all just blurs together. However, as we grow up, we begin to take more time to venture out of our hometowns. It isn’t until we finally explore places different from our hometowns that we seriously take a moment to consider what makes home, home. Now I’m off to college and I’ve compiled 20 signs you grew up in Walnut California!
1. Boba is not just a drink, it’s a lifestyle.
As you’ll soon realize, food plays a huge part of Walnut’s culture. There’s just so many options. I may or may not be exaggerating, but people literally eat, drink, and breathe boba.
2. TFW someone says “bubble tea.”
*cue the judgmental stares* Further emphasizing point #1, boba is taken very seriously.
3. When in doubt, “Chino Hills or Brea?”
A con of living in a relatively small town is that there’s very limited shopping options to choose from. Because of this, us Walnut residents have to venture one or two cities away to do some serious shopping. The drive can be annoying at times, but the heart wants what the heart wants (it wants to shop).
4. “Walnut? Huh?” “It’s next to Diamond Bar.” “OHHHHHH.”
Yup, it’s hard being a small town next to a big town. Most people know Diamond Bar because of Michael Jackson, Snoop Dogg, etc. but, seriously guys, Walnut is right next to DB. We at least deserve some credit for that.
5. The Village
Nearly everyone from Walnut relies on the Village to a certain extent. It’s actually comprised of four adjacent shopping centers, but basically it’s THE place to go if you’re looking to grab a quick bite to eat.
6. “Danger Zone”
Well, it’s not ACTUALLY called the “Danger Zone”, but it’s that place that you just know you’re going to run into someone you know, most likely at the worst possible times. Yes, as wonderful as “The Village” may be, there are cons as well.
7. When everything is close, but not really.
Other LA suburbs can probably relate to this as well, but essentially Walnut is AT LEAST a good 25 minutes from everything fun and exciting SoCal has to offer. 45 minute drive to go to Laguna? 30 minutes to DTLA? No problem.
8. Top of the World
This is a local viewpoint that doesn’t really have an address, but it’s not unusual to see a Snapchat story from the spot almost every day.
9. The never-meant-to-be NFL Stadium
This period of time will probably go down in our city’s history books. I have to say, Walnut generally isn’t very political, but this definitely caused unrest in our quiet town. Most people simply just didn’t want a rowdy football stadium to disrupt our town, nothing personal.
10. When “LA/OC” is the best way to describe the city’s location
Technically, Walnut is located in LA County, but in reality, taking a trip to the neighboring Orange County is so much closer and convenient, which makes sense since Walnut is located on the southeastern part of LA, bordering the OC.
11. The endless traffic on Grand Ave
Whose idea was it to have two busy freeway entrances on what was already one of the busiest streets in San Gabriel Valley? The traffic here is horrible enough and progressively getting worse due to new construction efforts. Just typical LA traffic? Nope. If you know, you know.
12. Where you might have to dress prepared for both winter AND summer on the same day
Living in the heart of Southern California is great because for the most part, it’s sunny all year. However, especially in winter, “sunny” does not always directly translate to warm. It’s not uncommon to dress for a warm and sunny day, take one step outside, and immediately run back inside to grab a jacket (or three). That’s not even the worst part. Imagine finally dressing up for a cold day (which is about mid 40s-50s for SoCal residents), only to have the thermostats hit the 80s by midday. The struggle is very real.
13. Rain/Thunderstorms/High Humidity might as well mean an impending apocalypse
The typical California weather stereotype is that it is always sunny, hot, dry and rain almost ceases to exist. For the most part, this is true. This being said, when there is rain/thunderstorm/high humidity, it gets dubbed ‘earthquake weather’ because what other explanations are there, am i right?. Fun fact: Walnut is located almost exactly on the San Andreas Fault line.
14. Donut Tree
This little donut shop is a local favorite and never fails to save the day. It’s open 24/7 and is perfect for grabbing a quick bite or a dozen of donuts right before school or work. It boasts a homey feeling that just cannot be beat.
15. Nature’s Juice Acai Bowls
This smoothie hub is located in the aforementioned “Village” (see #5). It opens early in the morning and closes pretty late, so it’s always an amazing place to satisfy everyone’s smoothie needs or post-workout cravings. The acai bowls are customer favorites as well as the Krazy Kale smoothie. The best part? It’s super affordable too!
16. Walnut Teen Center
A large part of Walnut resident’s childhood is the recreational activities sponsored by the city, specifically basketball. The youth basketball league is something that most kids were a part of for at least a year. Many lifelong friendships began at the teen center while playing basketball. Since it’s located so close to the middle school and high school, it is always a convenient and great place to get some free AC on a hot day and just play some basketball with friends.
17. Los Amigos
Tacos, tacos, and more tacos. Los Amigos almost exclusively caters to students from the local high school, Walnut High. It is incredibly convenient and is situated less than a mile down the road. Close proximity and $1 Taco Tuesdays? Godsent. What more can be said?
18. Road Construction
No one is exactly sure why, but the city of Walnut repaves the roads almost every summer. Not that the end result isn’t aesthetically pleasing, but the result of all this construction? TRAFFIC and lots of it. The construction in the city seems endless and is a legitimate nuisance at times, but it’ll probably all prove to be useful in the future.
19. “Why Not Us?” National Headlines
In the spring of 2015, it was the beginning of an era. Our local team made national headlines for defeating the current #1 ranked team in the country, the undefeated San Dimas High, in the CIF semifinals. Walnut ended the season as CIF runner-ups, but this was only the beginning. With their “Why Not Us?” slogan, the team made it back to the championship game and finally brought home the championship title. In just three years, the locally-oriented team rose from obscurity and came up on top. Who said the underdog couldn’t win?
20. XC/Track Meets at Mt. SAC
Walnut may be a small town, but we definitely don’t host small track meets. Every year, the community college in the city hosts some of the largest track meets in the country. The country’s best XC/track and field athletes come to compete and almost always, an Olympian makes an appearance. These events always bring the community together through volunteer work and athletics.
Do you have any more signs you grew up in Walnut California!? Share in the comments below!
Featured Image: weheartit
