Murder in Lafayette, CA

I have always complained about high school. But I never got to the point where I would turn against everyone, even though I felt rejected.

Recently, in my hometown of Lafayette–an affluent suburb of San Francisco located 30 minutes away–a 16 year kid killed a housewife without an unclear motive (yet). This is the second murder in 10 years. The boy attended the same schools I attended through Stanley Intermediate to Acalanes High, all schools well-adorned with high rankings and winning sport teams. My parents moved my sister and me from Hercules for a better school district in 1990 for those very reasons, hoping in their minds that we would succeed in life.

Yet, the question floats around the town now that teens are unstable. They really are though. It\’s hard to be someone without independence, with adults thinking they know what is right and at the same time, someone struggling with the meaning of friendships, and a developing self-awareness.

People want to blame it on a lack of good social structure in schools. But it\’s not only that. Suburbia is disconnected. People move alone in their cars to the grocery store and to work. People don\’t stop and chat at the local cafe. Sidewalks are empty or like on my street in Lafayette, almost nonexistant. My house is located far from the street too, a long driveway to the garage. Trick-or-treaters never come.

One of my friends said that living in the city is too fast paced, but in suburbia, it almost doesn\’t have a pace. We are all solitary, alone in our pods and in that way, we don\’t form the relationships sometimes we really need.