When I was twelve my parents thought it'd be a great idea to move my sister and I off Long Island and into Upstate New York. I was mortified. Our block had just been re-paved which meant a summer of premium rollerblading and bike riding. Well, this was not to be. Moving Upstate meant adjusting to "blue stone" pavement (aka rocks stuck in tar) and friends who lived
miles away as opposed to just a few houses down. Not to mention I was being separated from my cousins who were more like siblings to me. There were all the promises of visiting often, however the reality was once a year for a weekend at most. Our new school was a fraction of the size of the school districts we'd attended. Our class size went from 500 to 32. I remember that my upstate NY cousin Nate was excited that a new girl was coming to the school because that meant a new prospect to date in the future. Too bad it was me. Boy was he disappointed. With a class size of 32, the pickings were slim. Talk about an adjustment. With summer quickly approaching I reflect back on this drastic change in my life and the stark contrasts between summers on Long Island and in Upstate New York.
