Growing Up in Aurora: Beyond the Headlines

My hometown has been burdened by a negative reputation for all my life. When I tell anyone I'm from Aurora, I'm inundated by people's worst perceptions of the city. Where the movie theater shooting was? Where Elijah McClain was killed? And now, where Venezuelan gangs have taken over?

Although the Venezuelan gang accusations are more fiction than fact, even the true tragedies that taint the city don't fully reflect my reality of being born and raised in Aurora.

To me, Aurora is where I lived a happy childhood on a quiet neighborhood street. Where I spent mornings splashing through the Cherry Creek Dog Park with my family; afternoons running between the trees in Nick's Garden Center; evenings ice skating at the pond rink in Southlands; and nights roaming the pop-up carnivals outside the Aurora Mall.

It is still where I go to get my favorite foods in the state, from Tacos Selene on Sixth Avenue, to East Cafe on Mississippi, to Sushi Katsu on Havana (where my friends and I learned to hide the all-you-can-eat rolls in our backpacks to avoid extra charges).
It is where I received an education at one of the best elementary and middle schools in the state, and at an Aurora Public Schools high school that introduced me to journalism. It is where I learned alongside endlessly talented classmates, many of whom were first-generation Americans with parents from countries such as Vietnam, Mexico and Ethiopia, who expanded my view of the world.

I live in downtown Denver now, but Aurora is still where many of the best people I know lead content, peaceful lives independent from the national news narrative calling their home a hellscape.

I've grown used to snarky comments from college classmates asking if I'm from "one of the good parts" of Aurora and jokes from Colorado transplant dates asking me if I'm "dangerous" because of my hometown. But hearing these sentiments during presidential debates and from national media pundits pierces deeper.

Aurora is not its worst headlines. Like anywhere, it has issues that should be addressed. Yes, there is crime and violence, and dysfunction plagues the police department and local government — all problems that warrant discussion and media attention. But the city does not deserve half of the vitriol I've seen thrown at it throughout my life, particularly on the national stage in recent weeks.

The ordinary lived experience of Aurora residents who love their home can exist simultaneously with the city's troubles, though the former is too frequently left out of the narrative.

I ventured into Aurora for a late-night pickleball game last week. The evening felt picturesque as R&B music filled the warm summer air. A friend’s dog chased stray balls along the fence. Neighborhood children dueled with toy lightsabers in the dark field beside the court, their movements illuminated only by red and green flashes.

The action paused for a moment when we heard what sounded like a series of gunshots ring out far in the distance. Laughter quickly filled the silence, and the game continued.