I was introduced to Lawrence the summer before I started high school, after my mom shipped me up there. I suspect it was to keep me away from a boy who shall remain nameless, and I was beyond miserable at the thought of a whole summer without him.
With Nina, on our way to Drunkville |
But back to Lawrence. This is a small town. Very small. I believe I walked all over the entire town almost everyday that summer, and never broke a sweat. I learned to ride a bike in Lawrence (YES, at 14. Shut up!) and wrote sad, sappy letters to my beau back home while listening to New Edition records. I rode around with Nina in her car, acting silly and discussing most naughty things, and went with Mirna to bible study (her parents are Jehovah's Witnesses).
This was one of my first experiences playing outside and I am so lucky it was in a place with a million familiar Dominican faces. It really turned into a home away from home. I rarely thought of the beau and instead focused on the Acosta family I'd just met.
If you're ever looking for something to do on a long weekend, there are vans (run by Dominicans, or course. Proceed with caution.) that leave from Washington Heights and leave you at your door in Lawrence for about $60. Hop on the van, stay at the Holiday Inn Express in town and look up my family. They'll feed you, show you a good time and maybe give you a small taste of what it was like to have grown up like me.
Wonderful, beautiful, Dominican me.
*besos...realizing what a blessing in disguise that trip was*
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what would I do without Tia and Nina and Mirna?