Aimee grew up in Peekskill, New York, but attended a Catholic school in a neighboring town. This is her story on the connection, and lack there of, she feels toward her hometown.
Description: Geographically, Peekskill is pretty small, but it has a big population. It's right on the Hudson River too. It's a big immigrant city too. A lot of people are from Mexico. Mel Gibson is also from there. The schools have low test scores. My mom teaches third grade in Peekskill's public school system, but she didn't want my sister and I to go there. I went there until I was in third grade. My mom tells me I used to have nervous habits: biting my hair, chewing my nails. I don't remember being scared there, but my mother noticed. She said that I stopped them when I changed schools.
Positive: I feel like I was pretty disconnected from my hometown so my positive memories are about people, not the place itself. My whole life, I just wanted to get out of there. When I came to Oswego, I started to miss the people, the nostalgia of being home. Every time I go home, I appreciate it more. Like being able to spend time with my family and friends. I always get pizza at Anthony's Pizza.
Negative: There was a murder in my neighborhood. It was a girl who lived down the street. Her boyfriend killed her then committed suicide. It was pretty crazy. There were crimes at the school: you'd always hear about people bringing in weapons and stuff. My school was half an hour away and it kind of sucked driving all the way there my senior year, even though it wasn't as bad as the bus.
Bottom line: It's my hometown, but I don't feel that connected to it.
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