As I write this essay I think about how much my life has changed in throughout my sixteen years. Unlike my peers I have had many neighborhoods that have made me who I am today. These neighborhoods have taught me things I will never forget about myself and life.
4 Dekalb Avenue- an address I will never forget. It’s the first home I’ve ever known, the place I’ve felt most at home. The house was a beautiful ranch on half an acre of lush greenery in the vast plains of XXXXX County. I recall my sibling and I falling asleep in our parents’ massive (seemed that way at the time) queen-sized bed and my father lifting me up, still half asleep, and laying me down in bed. Moments like this gave me a warm solace. This is the kind of moment that I will forever cherish. We were too young to notice the cracks in my family marriage and how much they grew apart. My parents got a divorce in this neighborhood. As children we did not know what divorce meant, all we knew was our parents were no longer on speaking terms. This pained my siblings and me and this neighborhood was no longer a place of solitude, so we moved to a different neighborhood. This neighborhood taught me my left from my right; it taught me how to tie my shoes, and how to ride a bike. This neighborhood taught me sometimes things don’t go as planned but you must adjust.
21 Continental Place- the first place without my father. It was a large duplex we shared and rented with another family. This is where my family, sans my father, started a new life for ourselves. This neighborhood was a change from the many months spent living with different family members after the divorce. We as a family got into a stable rhythm. My mother took care of my siblings and I, by herself while she worked a nine to five job. We soon grew to dread the early morning ferry horns, visits from unwelcome animals and the distance from our family members. The problems with this neighborhood grew too much to bear. It seemed everything that could go wrong did. My mother always told me that whatever you speak comes to life and if you say things will happen, then they will. She used to always say that we would have our own house and car and be able to do whatever we want. My siblings and I used laugh because it was crazy to think that after all we have been through that would happened. We finally got our own car and soon after that, my neighborhood changed again for the better.
540 Bellmore Avenue- the first house my mom ever owned on her own. This neighborhood is my current neighborhood, It’s longest I’ve ever lived at a place. This was the light at the end of our ever extending tunnel. We finally had something to call our own and what my mother said came to life. Now I will forever believe that words have the power to come true. This neighborhood taught that positive things will happen if you will them to.

The different environments that I have lived in have shaped me into the person I am today. I have learned that “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry” through my parents’ divorce and the problems of our duplex. But, if you believe things will get better, then they will. All the neighborhoods I have lived in are and always will be a part of me.