Over Thanksgiving break, my family and I went back to New York City. We were there for a week, and within a few days my life in California began to feel like just a pleasant but faraway dream.

One day during the week my mom and I were walking down Broadway, in our old neighborhood on the Upper West Side.  I felt the cool November wind blow against me, but I refused to zip my jacket, reminding my mom with a kind of pride that “I’m never cold.” As we raced to cross before the light turned red, my mom said to me, “Doesn’t it feel when we are here, it’s like we never left?” I agreed, but then I thought about it a bit more and told her what didn’t feel the same. Now when we are in the city and I see a friend, it feels like a big reunion. That was exciting to me at first, but what I really want is for it to be just as if we saw each other every day.  The big reunions remind me of our separations. And each time, when it is time to leave, it is hard to know it will be a while before I come back.

That being said, when people ask me — as they do often — which home I love more, New York or California, my answer is always: “I honestly don’t know. I love them both.”

In front of my old apartment building

On the beach in Corona del Mar

It is the truth. New York feels like my true home, but now I also feel very comfortable in California. If I had a genie who could grant me one wish, I know exactly what it would be. I would wish that going back and forth between the two would be as simple as passing through a doorway – not flying for six hours and 3,000 miles.

I have come to understand, though, that changing my life is like writing a sequel to a book. You still include pieces from the first book, but you are able to write a whole new story.

On July 3^rd, my family and I celebrated our two-year anniversary of living in California. This is the start of our third year here.

Two years seems like a long time. I have not posted in a while, because of how many things in school and out that I have been doing. My days are filled, and I have done a lot. You can accomplish a lot in two years, which is what I did, Hannah did, my dad did, and what my mom has definitely done. I was in the show Annie, and was cast as the main role (Annie)! I had such an amazing time and a great experience participating in that show. I won the brave award this year for the “Visionary” category. That was an honor and so special to know that my teacher chose me. In school, I got good grades. My test scores were good, and my teacher even told me in person how great I was doing. I am extremely proud of my mom for getting the She Runs It Woman Of The Year Award! My dad has joined another PR group called Stryker-Munley, which he has been enjoying. I am also so proud of my sister for getting her drivers license! I am so proud of her, and she is an amazing driver! As you can see, we have accomplished a lot and I have had a remarkable time.

Two years can also feel like one week. I am already going into sixth grade, and I feel like coming to Harbor View for fourth grade (my first year here), was just a few days ago. I appreciate the beach as much today as I did on my first day here.

I have made so many friends. I know my friends as well as I know my family, because they really do feel as close as family. They make my time in California 110% better than I ever imagined. My time in California would be very different without them. I probably don’t tell them enough how much I love them, so: If you are one of my friends… thank you!

Even though I am sharing how much I love California, I am always a New York gal at heart!

It is funny how you can love a new place so much, but at the same time you can love and miss an old place. I have been thinking about New York a lot lately. There are two main reasons why. First, the family that bought our house moved in. I realize that we will never see are house again the way it was before. We might visit sometime, but it will all look so different. The second reason that I have been thinking about New York is that I have been having so much fun with my Cali friends, it makes me think about the fun that I have had with my NY friends. Both lives have parts that are the same, but also parts that are so different.

I was looking at some quotes the other day, and some stood out to me:

Great friends are
Hard to find,
Difficult to leave,
And impossible to forget.

That stood out to me because those three things are true. Great friends are hard to leave, but you will never forget them. The last part of the quote is the part that connects to me the most.

You can take me out of New York,
But you can never take the New York out of me.

A couple times a month, my parents give me “New York Quizzes” (like naming all of the subway stations on the 1 train). This quote is saying to me that even if I am no longer in New York, I can still be a New Yorker. My mom and I say that we are New Yorkers living in California. This is because we are and we always will be New Yorkers.

Here is one more quote that I have come to understand. I don’t even think that I need to write why.

Making a big life change is scary.
But do you know what is scarier?
Regret.

My family and I went back to New York City over Thanksgiving break. We found out a week before that my teacher was ON THE SAME PLANE! It was so nice to see her, on the plane and after. It was a very funny coincidence too.

Our first night, my Uncle Rob and cousins came up to NY and stayed in our hotel, while my mom, dad and I slept at my old upstairs neighbors’ house (They are very close friends). In the morning we all went for a walk all over Central Park.

Later that day, I went over to one of my best friends and we had a super fun sleepover! Her mom went to Ben n’ Jerry’s and got ice cream! She put a bunch of toppings in mason jars so we got a ‘Do It Yourself Sundae Bar’! We played a bunch of games and we were so happy, that we could not go to sleep! In the morning, I brought her to school and got to see everyone’s new classroom (It was really nice because I hadn’t made plans with everyone).

I also had a sleepover with one of my other best friends. We went to her backyard and played American Idol and made a musical. We went to bed at eleven-thirty and woke up at six-thirty! We made pancakes all by ourselves: plain, chocolate chip and “dad style” (chocolate chip and raspberry). It was so much fun!

My upstairs neighbor now goes to an after school that I used to go to called Writopia. I went with her and got to see all my old teachers! I even got to finish the story that I was working on there! I got to go back to her house, and we played for a while; we even got to have dinner together.

I went to another friend’s house and whenever I go there, we always seem to play hide and seek, so that’s what we did. We also made a rainbow loom and tap danced! We tried making a video for a makeup tutorial, but it didn’t really work. She has a beautiful garden/courtyard so we went to play out there. We did more hide and seek out there and we found a platform where we did more tap dancing. It felt like we were just having a regular playdate (until they asked me how life in California is).

On Thanksgiving Day, we were invited to our family’s really good friends for a big Thanksgiving dinner. It felt like a party! Her cousins were there who I knew from preschool, and we all had so much fun together! I was even happier when I found out that I got to sleepover! WE went to sleep late again, at eleven-thirty! I did not want the fun to end! 😦

While we were in New York, we saw two Broadway musicals. First we saw “School of Rock.” The actor who played Dewey was exactly like Jack Black, who played the role in the movie. I thought the kids were so talented, and they were just my age! The other show we saw was “Fiddler On The Roof,” which I thought was very interesting, especially since I am Jewish.

At the end of the weekend, we drove to Long Island so we could go to my cousin’s Bat Mitzvah. I got to see all of my Dad’s side of the family and play with my cousin.

I did not want to leave. Not one bit. But it was time. Flying back to California was strange because it felt like we still lived in New York! I was still happy to come back so I could see my Cali friends! This was one of the best breaks ever! (Now I can’t wait for winter break)!

I’ve now been going to my new school in California for about a month and a half now.

I want to start out by telling you about the teachers and principal. My teacher is amazing. She comes up with the best award systems, attention signals and she makes learning way more fun than usual. Her name is Mrs. Botta and I am sooo grateful for her.

Next is our principal, Dr. Schmidt. This school would never be the same without him. Everybody, especially me, loves the routines, the rules and most importantly… the fun! Dr. Schmidt: I will make learning my adventure! 

I also love all the special activities. I love the games in P.E. and the cool projects we make at Art Masters. I also love our new music teacher who is the director of an amazing choir (and now I’m in the choir)! We also have science lab where we do cool experiments. I love specials!!

We had a Jog-A-Thon yesterday and I was pretty scared because you have to run for 20 MINUTES! But after, I was very proud because I ran 26 laps! In the break and after we finished, we were all taking showers because we were dumping water on our heads! Jog-A-Thon is a school fundraiser where we get pledges for how much we ran. It was fun!

I think what everybody back in New York will think is cool is that we have: a view of the ocean from our playground, outdoor hallways, outdoor P.E. (not in a gym) and an outdoor cafeteria! Harbor View is the best!

What a few weeks!

It started out with a friend of Hannah’s visiting. We made a fun rule that if you wound up being the first one to visit, you would get our guest room named after you…and there was real competition! (Also because people miss us. Yeah, mainly that). But Hannah’s friend Rory was the first to make it so now we have to call the guest room “The Rory Room.” We all went to see “Shakespeare in the Park” (California style). It was really good, but super-duper long. I only saw the first half because the other half I was asleep.  🙂

Then my aunt, uncle and cousins came right after. I had sooo much fun with them! We went to the beach A LOT, made sand homes, and went on a Duffy boat ride. I drove for a while and we saw a bunch of sea lions! We went on a Taco Bell tour, (THANKS MOMMY!) We made our own burritos and tacos. YUMMY, YUMMY! We also drove up to Hollywood and saw some famous people’s houses and the stars on the Walk of Fame. I was really sad when they left. 😦

My friend Hudson came after with her dad; she is my upstairs neighbor from New York who I would play with whenever I could. We used our boogie boards and would see who went farther, we went to the beach so we could take a nice jog, and played loads of “school.” It is hard to go from seeing someone practically every day, to then seeing them maybe 5 times a year. Now comes the sadness: we say our goodbyes, and they take off.

Now you probably get my starting line! Even though I’m in California, summer still comes to an end. I’m SO excited to start Harbor View Elementary tomorrow!

I haven’t written a blog post for a whole month, and I bet you think I’ll be talking about what my new house is like (now that I’ve truly seen it), getting new furniture for it, who my neighbors are and many more things. But I am actually going to talk about camp. My new camp in California. I’ve met all of the friends I’ve made so far (except for one) from camp. I go to the JCC. That stands for the Jewish Community Center. (Zoe: it is very different in this JCC pool, and just the fact that I’m there without you) 😦

I am in a group called “OC Explorers,” which I personally think should be called “CA Explorers,” because we’ve gone on trips beyond Orange County, like the San Diego Zoo (but whatever). We are called OC Explorers because we go on a lot of trips. We go 3-4 days a week. Today we went fencing, another day we got to see the Special Olympics, another day we are going to Universal Studios and many, many more.

I met a girl named Emma and she is going into 5^th grade. She is really nice, but she left last session. Another girl is named Lee and she really likes swimming. She was only here for one week though. Her best friend from preschool is named Tamara. She is now in this session with me, so we are becoming good friends. I also became friends with twin sisters, and surprisingly, a boy!

Each week, every group has to come up with a song that represents their group and the camp. If the judges (the unit heads) like your song the most, you win the “Yofi hat,” which you then get to decorate and wear as an honor for the next week. Last week, I decided to write my group’s Yofi cheer – even though usually the counselors write it! I wrote the words to the tune of “Party in the USA.” Everybody loved it… and…we WON! It was so exciting that we won with MY SONG! Everyone in my group was cheering me on, giving me high fives and congratulating me! I was going to explode with happiness!!!

Even though I miss Spring Lake SOOO much, I still love my new camp.

I can’t believe it! We actually did it! AHHHHHHH! Turns out it wasn’t as hard as we thought: for two days we stayed at a New York HOTEL. Then we got our SUITCASES and flew out to a place where people DREAM of living. And guess what? I AM!!! Now we are at a hotel and it REALLY feels like a vacation! Also there were barely any tears on the day we left! My favorite part was that we flew FIRST CLASS! I got steak for lunch, sprite for a drink, mango sorbet and a chocolate chip cookie! I think for every sentence I have written so far, I end it with an exclamation point! I am SOOOO excited!

My family had seen the house in person except for ME. In the photos it looks huge! But in person it looks HUGE! It’s weird, we haven’t even been here for a week and I already miss New York. 😦

No I don’t go to karate class. You are probably thinking, what is she talking about? Well, I look at my house and see boxes, empty closets, packers/movers… and at night I just start wiggling and getting all stressed. So why I called this post “I Need a Karate Class” is because I keep wishing I could kick and break a block of wood to let out my anxiety.

I knew this would be hard – but not THIS hard. To help myself, I sing songs in my head, I play with my Slinky, I cuddle with a stuffed bear I call Mr. Fluffolofogus (pronounced how it’s spelled) and the stuffed cow that was once my Nana’s, and I give myself pep talks. I know many people that have moved. I used to think to myself, “oh, that doesn’t seem so bad. Moving will be fine for them.” But now that I am experiencing it, I regret thinking that.

At night I also talk to my mom when we are lying in my bed to let my emotions and feelings out. One of the things I told her is that I will even miss the creaky floor outside my room and the annoying boys in my grade because they are part of my life here that I have grown up with.

My Nana died two years ago. This won’t be as hard as that, because I won’t see her again. I can see my friends again. But I was thinking that if you add up all the minutes and moments that I’m going to be missing with my friends here, it feels as hard as saying goodbye to my Nana.

Performing is one of my favorite things to do. I’ve done it since I was two or three. I did ballet and my sister, mom and dad, would always laugh because I could never jump! When I was five, I was in my first musical! It was “Bye Bye Birdie” for the teens. I auditioned for the kids show “Annie” and got in for “Bye Bye Birdie”! I was Randolph, but they changed it to Rebecca since I’m a girl. I then was in a play “Peter Pan” with Marley. I was Silvermist the fairy. THE DAY BEFORE THE SHOW a girl who has a solo remembered she couldn’t be at the show!!! I got her solo as Tiger Lily, but was super scared since I just had a night and a morning to memorize it. Now I started doing dance. I’ve done it for two years and am doing tap and musical theater (singing, dancing and acting). I absolutely LOVE performing and I am so glad I get to do it no matter where I go.Read More »