Houston is the Best

The Texas Story Project.

When you think Houston (if you ever have), you may think of oil, gas, and highways. Although Houston is all of this, it is much more than that. I have lived in Houston for my whole life (for the time being), and I know that Houston is not like that at all. When you get to know it, it is a great place. Houston, in fact, is very important. Because Houston is so great, I am going to tell you some of the best things about Houston.

I have been to some parks in my time on earth, and Houston has some very good ones. For example, Houston has a solar-powered and renewable-energy-using park called Discovery Green in the middle of downtown Houston. Houston also has the Arboretum, which is an interactive nature center, right next to a highway. Houston, of course, has a lot of other parks, but I think these are some of the best parks in Houston that I have been to.

Houston is one of the most diverse cities in America. Because of this, my family and I have been exposed to a lot of cultures and their food. One of these foods is the Vietnamese phô ga that my family and I sometimes go to eat. Sometimes, I forget how lucky I am to go out and eat phô ga at a restaurant just 20 minutes away. If I’m in a different mood, I could go out to eat Korean-barbeque in Houston’s Koreatown, or eat something in Houston’s two Chinatowns or their Little India.

Houston also has an excellent symphony orchestra and ballet. I have never seen their ballet, although, I have seen their symphony before, and they are excellent. Houston has outstanding art too. For instance, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts (MFAH) is the oldest art museum in Texas, plus it has more than 62,000 pieces of art and it has the largest and most diverse art collection in the Southwestern United States.

Before, I thought Houston was just a major producer of oil and gas, but I was wrong. Houston has very successful industries, which not only include oil and gas but also their shipping channel. The Houston Ship Channel is one of the largest in the United States, and it imports and exports several items everyday. Houston is also a world energy capital, and more than 10% of Houston is powered by solar energy.

Houston has its very own rodeo! When I was little, I thought it was all carnival rides and cotton candy. That is all wrong. It creates thousands of jobs every year, and it increases Houston’s population by at least 15,000 people per year when the rodeo is going on. There are livestock auctions, shopping, international wine competitions, and some of the greatest performers of all time have performed there, including: Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande, Kiss, Elvis Presley, Beyoncé, Janet Jackson, The Jackson Five, Willie Nelson, Taylor Swift, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Although, in all the times I went, I have never tried their fried butter, but it’s on my bucket list.

The Houston Medical Center is the largest medical center in America. I sometimes go there because my mom works at Texas Children’s Hospital, which is the 4th ranked pediatric hospitals in the nation. The Houston Medical Center was ranked the #1 medical center in 2016. It is also home to Memorial Hermann Hospital, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and several other prestigious award-winning hospitals.

Houston is also home to NASA, which is why one of its nicknames is Space City. It is pretty cool to be living in the city where NASA trains its astronauts, and where mission control is. Also, no, Houston is not just “Houston, we have a problem” references.

That is all I will tell you about Houston, but as you can tell, Houston sounds very interesting. A big reason why I love Houston so much is because I was born there and live there currently. Houston was greatly affected by Hurricane Harvey, but the Astros winning the World Series for the first time boosted everyone’s spirits. So, next time you’re going on vacation, you should visit Houston. You could go to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, or go to Houston’s Downtown Aquarium. You never know, you might end up going back next year!


Colin is a student at St. Catherine's Montessori in Houston. He plays piano and trumpet.

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