My name is Michael Curry– yes I know that it’s a boy’s name!– And I was actually born in Downey near Los Angeles but moved away when I was seven to live in Marysville, from there I moved to start my high school chapter in Gridley where I met tons of amazing and supportive people . Now for my adult life ( although I’m only seventeen) I’m currently living in Chico to attend California State University Chico. I was pretty nervous to move from home with all my friends to Chico. However, I realized that everywhere I went, I’ve found people that I couldn’t live without and luckily it’s not a far drive at all! I’m a very sports-oriented person and I strongly believe in the mental and physical benefits of playing sports. I’ve always played them throughout my schooling and was very sad to know that I wouldn’t be able to compete in as many as I used to back in high school where I played volleyball, wrestling, track, and rugby. I started wrestling in seventh grade. I was a four time women’s wrestling state qualifier where I took 8th my junior year and 2nd my least year of high school. I was so sad to hear that Chico state didn’t have a wrestling program but I decided that I would compete on my own. I’ve done track since sixth grade and absolutely loved it. This past year our Gridley High School girl’s had the opportunity to compete in the California State track meet. Rugby is a newly found passion of mine. My first year playing was the summer of my junior year. I played two seasons of summer 7s rugby and a season of 15s in the winter. I went on a couple of rugby tours where I competed on all-star teams in Las Vegas, Oregon, and Utah. I plan to join Chico’s rugby program to continue my rugby career. I wish to learn the science of movement of the human body as well how to maintain good health majoring in kinesiology. I would consider myself a pretty outgoing and open-minded person and I absolutely love to meet new people. I feel like with each person that enters my life, my world expands a bit more every time becoming more connected with the world and all it has to offer.
About My Home (Gridley)
Gridley, California is a small town located 26 miles south of Chico in Butte County. Gridley was founded by George W. Gridley, a prosperous sheep farmer, who attempted to drive his sheep and cattle from Illinois all the way to Gridley. Though he failed and his animals were lost, Gridley made it safely and resided in the newly founded town in 1855. Two years later he tried again and successfully transported 200 sheep. Gridley later experienced much development with the completion of the Central Pacific Railroad in 1870. However, Gridley still is mainly an agricultural town home to many farmers of different kinds of orchards and fields. Gridley High his the only High School in Gridley. Gridley is home of many member of the LDS Church.
Gridley is a pretty small city with a population of approximately 6,586 according to the US Census Bureau taken in 2016. It has only a change of seven new people since 2010. The census taken in 2010 reported that about 51% of Gridley residents are female. They have not yet collected information regarding gender for the year of 2016. 65% of Gridley’s population in 2010 were Caucasian. The majority of the remaining population is of Hispanic ethnicity. The percentage of high school graduates in Gridley for people 25 years and older is 69% and the percentage of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher is 15%. About 22% of the population live in poverty. Hopefully these numbers have depleted since 2010 and will continue to deplete with the coming years allowing for a more prosperous community. The median household income from 2011 to 2015 is $35,455 in 2015 US dollars.
that I think is interesting about Gridley is how many churches it has. Gridley is a very small city with only a few fast food restaurants and one high school yet it is home to eighteen different churches! Most of Gridley’s religious residents are catholic, christian, or mormon. Gridley has a pretty big mormon community. Many of the students who attend Gridley High are mormon, also known as LDS, and once they finish high school, they leave for their missions. They are missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints that are volunteer representatives of the LSD church They are sent to places all over the world. One of my friends was sent to the Philippines and when she returned she enrolled at BYU Utah. Often times missions are a year-long activity and during that time missionaries aren’t supposed to contact their families.
My favorite place to go in Gridley is Casa Lupe! Their food is so delicious and the servers are people I know that are very nice. The burritos are freshly made right in front of me. Not only are all the ingredients super fresh but they are made quickly. I often go there to eat with my friends and family, bonding over delicious food is always a great time. As they say “Home is where the good burritos are made!” Wait… is that the way the saying goes? Another big part of my life and many other people’s life is schooling. Gridley is home to the bulldogs, the only local high school in Gridley. I went to Gridley High School all four years of my high school career. It was a very great school for me and I met many lifelong friends while attending there. Some of their sports teams are very good but what Gridley High School is best known for is their academics. The high school has been awarded numerous accolades including the gold ribbon awards and are ranked as a silver medal school.