South Pasadena versus Pasadena: an age-old rivalry between two cities. Though seemingly similar in name, each city maintains its own distinct community, from a different farmer’s market to a different soccer league, all the way to a different school system with a completely different approach to education. South Pasadena is known for its robust public school system providing students from all walks of life a free education from kindergarten through 12th grade. Pasadena is known for its overcrowded, underfunded public schools, which has resulted in the majority of Pasadena residents enrolling their children in private schools.

Now, my family lived in Pasadena for the first six years of my life, but as I was heading into kindergarten, we moved to South Pasadena. Despite the move feeling like a monumental shift, we only moved two blocks away, right over the border of Pasadena and South Pasadena. Because of the relocation, my parents briefly contemplated sending my younger sister and me into South Pasadena’s public school system. However, my two older sisters were in the sixth and seventh grade at a Pasadena private school, so alas, the last two children (my sister and I) were bound to follow suit.

My friends from school mainly live in Pasadena, spend countless hours a night on homework, are driven by academic achievement, and are incredibly focused on college . . . after all, that is why their parents are paying for private school education. My friends from outside of school mainly live in South Pasadena, play sports after school, take weekly trips to the aforementioned farmers market, and are much more concerned with finding a career than a college. Now, these are just generalizations from my personal observations, but based on my experience, each community is cultivating a completely different set of students and citizens. Neither one is better than the other, neither one is without pros and cons, but both are just different.

On one hand, I agree with the Pasadena community that education can be a door-opener, that one must prioritize academics and focus on the future, but on the other hand, I do not agree with the concept that a high-intensity kindergarten through high school college preparatory education is the only thing that can open doors. Building connections within your community, finding passions beyond school, and taking time out of your day to play a sport that makes you happy can sometimes open more doors than a perfect SAT score or a 4.0 GPA.

In the end, I must acknowledge that I am a part of two communities with two drastically different approaches to education. Pasadena, with strong private schools for those that can afford them, and South Pasadena, with strong public schools for anyone from the area. They both have a sense of exclusivity, whether it be socioeconomic or geographic, and they both aim to educate, albeit through different means. A wise woman once told me, “Geography is destiny,” but I believe we have the power and the privilege as people to make our destinies and shape our futures.