Post #7

    On March 29th, I was born in Summit, New Jersey in the year 2000. I was the first of my family (which consists of 6 cousins and a sister) to be born outside the state of New York. Coincidentally, I was also the first to not be delivered by the same doctor who delivered all of Mick Jagger's children in New York. This is a chip I've had on my shoulder ever since I heard about it at age 14. 

    While I was born in Summit, my family had recently moved to Westfield, New Jersey. Westfield is a town less than a mile from the place where I was born. I had been living in New Jersey ever since I was born. Needless to say, the urban Baltimore is so incredibly different from the suburbs of New Jersey 

 Growing up in the suburbs I something that most people view as luxurious Since I've lived there all my life, I can tell you one thing about it. It is BORING. For fun, we used to loiter outside of 7/11 and wait for something interesting to happen. On a good day, someone would get in trouble with the police at the gas station across the street, and we would have a front seat view. It wasn't until I got to high school that I realized life in the city was so much better. 

    When I got to high school, I was attending an all boys catholic high school that sat right in the heart of Jersey City. Suddenly, I wasn't stuck in the suburbs anymore. I feel the same way about Baltimore. No matter where you are, there's always somewhere to go. There's always a good restaurant just around the corner, or a restaurant that's just opened and needs to be tried. 

 Another big difference between Baltimore and the place I grew up is the people. Where I grew up, you were asking for a punch in the face if you said hello to someone walking past you on the sidewalk. New Jersey is not a friendly place. In Baltimore, the person walking by you will usually say hello, or how's it going, while you pass them on the sidewalk in a neighborhood. 

The food was a big difference for me to adjust to. In New Jersey, pizza restaurants line every block in our downtown. Occasionally, there is a gelato spot that sits in the middle of all of the pizza joints. This is due to the fact that Westfield has a large amount of Italian immigrants in it. My family is in the minority since we  are descendants of Jews from Poland. 

    Maryland has a strange obsession with crabs that I don't think I'll ever understand. Even though I worked in a Baltimore crab shack for three months, I fail to see the allure of crabs. They are bottom feeders that provide barley any meat. Not to mention, they need to be smothered in butter and salt to have any flavor. 

    Growing up in New Jersey, everything was always silent. The suburbs have a need to be desolate and silent at all times. Even if a police siren comes through the neighborhood at a late hour, the HOA of my neighborhood will have a problem with it. I learned that the hard way by lighting off a firecracker at midnight two blocks away from my house, and seeing the flashing lights whiz past me soon after I had left the scene of my devious crime. 

    My time in Baltimore has shown me that not everything is silent. If you spend any time in Fells Point, you will find that nothing is ever silent there. The people of Baltimore tend to be loud, rowdy, and always looking for a good time. It os nothing like my hometown where it was rare to ever see a restaurant or shop open past 9 pm. 

  In the end, Baltimore could not be more different from my home town. And I'm glad that this is the school I chose to go to. If I had chosen a local college, I likely would have ended up living on a quiet street with a pizza joint and a fast food place around the corner to cater to all of the college students. When I'm in Baltimore, I have an electric feeling.