A neighborhood is not an ordinary place. It’s a small corner compared to the vastness of the world we live on. It’s the community where all childhood memories are made and where life begins. My neighborhood is very special to me and has been my home for the past ten years. Upon arrival to the new neighborhood, I knew it was just a beginning development waiting patiently for families to live in it. My home was one of the first uniform ones to be built. As I witnessed my house and other houses in the neighborhood be built, I saw the building blocks of my childhood come into focus.

As a six-year-old, the house was monstrous to me. Its large white exterior, molten black shutters, and stone front, excited and frightened me at the same time. The house was finally complete after six months of building and as the family began to unpack the many cardboard boxes that reeked of must, I noticed my surroundings. My senses were overwhelmed with the freshly mowed grass of the few neighbors that had grass at the time, the sound of chirping birds that were excited by the scene, and my new baby brother crying at the sight of a new environment. While I looked beyond my backyard, I spotted large masses of dirt, endless bustling machines and workers, little greenery, and stone roads being turned smooth by thick, black, hot tarr. These were the signs of a desolate empty place being turned into the beautiful humbling neighborhood that I’ve come to love.

The neighborhood now fully developed with its winding roads and gorgeous houses standing out on Green Links Turn, Brae Ridge, and other various streets gave the neighborhood its character. As you enter the development from its three entrances you are overwhelmed by the scenery of the hilly, crisp, and clean golf course of the Owasco Country Club, colors upon colors of flowers, and the fragrance of nature engulf the senses. As you continue to weave through the winding streets you notice many alluring homes with two or three stories each outdoing the next one. The extravagant landscapes catch the eye with umbrella trees, lavender bushes, and bright white lights that make the greenery illuminate at night. You look around to see crystal chandeliers giving off a rich and florescent glow in each person's window. Every road, house, and person are seen as perfect.

The people of the neighborhood vary in many ways. There are kids of every age. You walk by a house and see a mother and her baby sitting on the porch or you see a teenager getting ready for their grad party. You see kids from elementary school, middle school, high school, and college as a majority of the area. Though as you walk by other houses you see old fashion folks with clothes lines full of laundry and sipping hot coffee in the morning. You see families of four, six, and even eight. Almost always you can hear the wheels of rollerblades on the road and the slap of a hockey stick as the kids play street hockey while the neighborhood dogs try to join in the fun with their excited barking. Everyone in the neighborhood is close with one another and it’s almost as if we are all in a gigantic tight knit family. The feeling of being a part of something this positive is very humbling, warm, and welcoming.

A neighborhood holds more of a person's life than we realize. It’s a place that defines our childhood and who we become. My neighborhood has brought me up to be appreciative, loving, and humble. From a young age I began to memorize my surroundings and realize the beauty my neighborhood has to offer. As I go on day to day, in my neighborhood, I noticed more and more that make it special and unique.