Simon Man, Meet Forest Hills

Ever since I was three years old and I moved from my grandparents' apartment in Midtown Manhattan to this genuinely suburban town called Forest Hills, I discovered what home really meant.  Home meant having a place to run to when you're sick of your family, your friends, and all the things that could possibly bother you at a specific time.  Home also meant being proud of where you live, where you go to school, where you hang out in the summer. 

As it relates to me, I went to school here, at Our Lady of Mercy, a slightly smaller Catholic school.

After eight years of a private education, I switched gears and headed into the public sector of education, enrolling in Russell Sage Junior High School 190.

With a combination of friends with different religious backgrounds and different races, I developed a love for this neighborhood like no other.  I knew people on every block and I could head over to the local basketball courts and play a pick-up game with whoever was there.  Home not only meant being comfortable with where you existed, but knowing that it shaped who you are and the backbone of who you are to become.