As I type this, I realize that I should have chosen the “10 song” option for this blog post as I am currently listening to songs which would aptly describe me. Perhaps another time as I have already picked out the pictures. So let us begin.

I start with a picture that describes a lot of my high school life, and embodies a few aspects of urban youth.  When growing up in this incredible city, you do a lot of hanging out and wandering the streets looking for something to do. In this particular picture a few friends and I needed to get out of the cold, and decided  to be a part of an Urban Outfitters front window display. Quite a few laughs were shared with passing pedestrians.

I love hanging with old friends, but there is nothing like meeting new ones. Sometimes, a little common interest like a song or dance will spark something amazing.

I was not always as comfortable with New York City as I am now. I attended elementary and middle school very close to my house. It was not until High School that I started to explore everything the city had to offer. But walking around was just to slow for me. This is when I found skateboarding.

(A big thanks to my cousin who risked his well being for this picture, and the french tourist who approached us afterwards to show us the picture he had taken.)

Along with spending a ton of time hanging out on the streets, being on the court, pitch, field, and mat for different sports consumed much of my time. I played four different sports during my high school carrier (soccer, baseball, basketball and wrestling) but my heart belongs to one, baseball.

Something very important to me is my involvement with my synagogue. They have allowed me to define who I am and who I want to be. During my Junior and Senior year I had the opportunity to be an assistant teacher at the hebrew school.

My first job with an actual pay check is the farthest thing from a job. In the summer going into high school my friends dragged me to the tryouts to be a U.S. Open ball boy. Now 5 tournaments later we are still doing it but this year was  the most eventful. My picture appeared in a Wall Street Journal article, and I had a brief shout out on sportscenter when I crashed into another ballboy on national television. 

Now the final picture. The final act of my high school stupidity. A quick start on the freshman 15, diabetes in a dish, a great time. All appropriate titles. As the summer wound down, and it became time for all of us to go our separate ways and take on the world, we all came together to take down “The World”. Nine friends and I took a road trip to the International Delight Cafe, famous for their dessert called “The world”.

Thanks for reading.

-Daniel