Arjun Mathur: A City With Soul

Arjun Mathur shares about how Fremont celebrates cultural diversity.

What makes the city have soul? I’m from Fremont, and one of the most common critiques I see of my city is that it’s soulless. But I’m convinced that soulless isn’t the right word for it. Boring sure, nobody can argue with that.

But it’s not “soulless.” To call Fremont “soulless” is to liken it to a master plan suburb, where every lawn is manicured to perfection, where the layout has been predetermined before the place has even been built, where the entire town was built maybe 20 years ago. People haven’t moved in till 10 years ago. Fremont isn’t like that, at least not exactly.

Fremont is classic suburbia, but it grew organically. It was five rural towns before 1956, then it unified into one city. Today in Fremont you’ll find that it feels like a very different city depending on where you are. Some places might feel quiet and almost rural, other places it’s bustling and industrial. You can walk around Fremont and in the same block You can find this liquor store, a high school, an Afghan restaurant, a movie theater, a Muslim bookstore, a kids park and an auto repair shop.

You can walk to a different block and find nothing but strip malls, pricey boba tea shops, and million-dollar homes. There’s also the industrial expanse and the office space. I think this rapid contrast is the very thing that gives a city’s soul in general.

That and the fact that the city makes an effort to celebrate its culture, its heritage, and the people that make it up. Kite festivals. Holy celebrations, exhibits at the library, you name it. Additionally, another important thing is that the remarks about Fremont itself being soulless are made by people who conflate “soulless” with boring.

There might be nothing to do, so it might be boring, but it’s not homogenous. The lack of homogeneity is what gives it a soul. That’s what it means. With The Perspective, I’m Arjun Mathur.

Arjun Mathur is a high school student. He lives in Fremont. In his spare time, he likes to read about history, play video games, write, take photos and go biking.