In This Beautiful Bubble

After my husband and I had our daughter in 2005, we decided to move from New York to Maui, Tokyo, Santa Monica. We currently live in San Diego. I am raising my daughter in Southern California and realize the environment she is growing up in is nothing similar to that of my own childhood. I grew up in the industrial area of Tokyo. There were many small manufacturers and houses right next each other. Children ran through narrow alleyways and explored the neighborhood without adult supervision. On the other hand, here I see rows and rows of beautiful homes. Nature is serene and tranquil. Children live in protected environments. They are given everything they can think of. The housing boom made it possible for everyone to have a big home. Parents drive SUVs to drop kids off at school. There are houses being built on the land where there used to be coyotes and bobcats. One day another parent from my daughter's school said, "Someday I want my kids to see the outside this beautiful bubble." She grew up in San Diego and is raising her children in the same neighborhood. The title of the new series, "In This Beautiful Bubble" came from this conversation. I am curious to observe how children grow up in this man-made utopia.