There sat a young woman on Haight, a mural she did paint. We stopped and had a cool chat with 19-year-old Savannah. Originally from Clayton, CA, she’s ever-grateful for her pilgrimage to San Francisco. Here’s her story …
Savannah: 8th grade is when I really started coming here and thought it was so cool. I’d see all the kids on the street and wanted to hang out with them and experience this whole other lifestyle. I’d never seen that before. I was 17 when I lived on the street for 3 months. Then coronavirus hit so I had to move back to my parent’s house for a bit. The street was a good experience for me. People are actually genuinely happy not having anything. They just have a bag on their back and they’re grateful. I felt like I wasn’t. Now I’m grateful for everything: a roof above my head, an awesome dog and cat. Things have definitely gotten a lot better since I’ve been here in San Francisco.
HSV: Were you rebelling against something?
S: It was more wanting to experience everything life has to give. Suburbia is a one-life path: you grow up, go to college, you do that. I don’t want to do that. I’d come to the conclusion at a young age that this is my way of life. Everyone individually, it’s their life. I had that mindset so my parents didn’t try to bring me home. They said, “Go experience and whenever you’re ready you have a place to come to.”
HSV: That’s a blessing. Where did you sleep when you were on the street?
S: Out front of Magnolia and Gus’s and the music store before it was gone.
HSV: Were people nice or did they boot you out?
S: For the most part, people understand because we’re young, they give us an easier time than the older people. People can definitely be rude.
HSV: So here you are painting a mural at Pipe Dreams.
S: Art’s always been my way even though this takes a lot more time than writing a sentence. You can actually see what I’m trying to express.
HSV: What do you want to say to everybody?
S: I love them and keep going. Keep on pushing. At times it gets hard, but we’ve just got to keep the love alive and keep spreading it because without the love there’d really be nothing.
