Teen Scene: In Havertown, These are a Few of My Favorite Things

I live in a great area. It feels like a little city not far from a very large city, with easy access to mountains and the beach and metropolises like New York, Baltimore and Washington. Havertown is where I live and where my friends and my family live, and I love Havertown.

A new place opening that I'm excited about is YoCreation—a soft-serve yogurt shop that opens across from the Middle School on Darby Road—and I see that as a potential place for kids to hang out and enjoy. That's what is great about Havertown for kids: We can walk to so many places and have so many experiences. Who hasn't been to Rita's on Eagle Road? Doesn't everybody have a favorite pizza spot (there is a lot of good pizza in this town!) Doesn't it seem that you can go almost anywhere and know somebody?

Here is my list of the things I like most about Havertown:

• The Wawas in Havertown are essential. I prefer Little Wawa next to the Skatium over Big Wawa on the other end of Darby Road, but they both serve their duties quite nicely. I’m at Wawa probably four or five times a
  week. Hoagies, Sweet Tarts, hot chocolate; they have it all. Plus I give props to the employees that put up with us teenagers every night, and extra props to the ones that let us use the bathroom. I wonder if there is anyone in Havertown who doesn't consider Wawa an essential part of life. It's not in the same category as my cell phone for "most important" status, but it's not far behind! I'm kind of kidding, people, so don't bash me in the comments section.
• The Skatium is where all the memories begin. When there’s nowhere else to hang out, kids go sit at the Skatium. I haven’t hung out there since probably 8th grade, and if I ever did now it’d be incredibly boring. I'm far too mature for that at this stage in my life, but it was fun in middle school. Everyone in the grade would go on a Friday or Saturday night, sit on the benches and do funny stuff. Everybody laughed. Everybody got to know each other. We went in the winter too; we were very dedicated. All we needed was a couple of hot chocolates to enjoy. Every kid has to experience the Skatium phase or you’re not a true Havertonian. One of the great things about Haverford High School, in my opinion, is that all of the kids get along. There aren't cliques. There are groupings of friends, but there is not one group that bullies another group. I don't see that, and I think that one of the reasons the kids at HHS have such a positive experience is that we all hung out and got to know each other before we went to high school, and the Skatium was a place to hang out with kids from all over town.
• I love Janos on Brookline Boulevard. It’s the one place I never get kicked out of just for "hanging out." I’m there almost every day after school for that reason only. Well, and because the food is delicious. The fries and chicken fingers are my favorite. The pizza is pretty good but could be better if there was no green stuff on it (oregano, I know). Everyone who works there is nice and you can’t get a better deal than $2.50 for a slice and a free refill. But guys, can you cut out the green stuff? Or maybe make it optional?
• The Grange is hands down the best park in Havertown. It helps that it’s close to my house and I have a couple of friends who pretty much live in the Grange. The playground is good for little kids and I still enjoy the swing set. I love going there to watch football and baseball games. Guys also like it for the basketball courts. The woods get put to good use, too. My friend has a golf cart and it’s always fun to ride through, or people walk their dogs and everyone just seems at peace when they're in the Grange park.
• The city is one of my favorite places to be and the fact that the train station (Norristown High Speed Line, running from Norristown to Upper Darby) is right behind my house is very convenient. It’s such cheap, easy access to wherever I want to go, especially since I can’t drive. (Wait until February 23, when I turn 16! Wooooo! Hoooo!) I’ve gotten very good at using the train recently and it helps me experience life outside of Havertown.
• I've enjoyed the schools and the teachers a lot, starting with Chatham Park Elementary, then Haverford Middle School and now Haverford High School. I want to give a shout out to Mr. Cohen, my eighth-grade English teacher. He was always supportive and encouraging. He has a great style of teaching—laid back, cool and he gets his message across.
• Velour Hair Salon on Darby Road is a great place. Voula knows just what to do with my hair! And if she is hiring, I would love a job some day. Just sayin', Voula!
• RIP Butch's Deli, the greatest place in the history of Havertown. There was no place like Butch's. It felt like home and everyone there felt like family. I would be there literally every day after school, and I always got a soft pretzel with cheese. They had the best candy, soda, and ice cream and were famous for their cheesesteaks (although I rarely eat meat other than chicken). I spent hours every day there with my friends.