growing up italian essay

• Literature & Fiction
• History & Criticism

Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime Try Prime and start saving today with fast, free delivery

Amazon Prime includes:

Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.

• Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
• Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
• Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
• A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
• Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
• Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access

Important:  Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.

Return this item for free

We offer easy, convenient returns with at least one free return option: no shipping charges. All returns must comply with our returns policy.

• Go to your orders and start the return
• Select your preferred free shipping option
• Drop off and leave!

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Echoes of Growing Up Italian (84) (Essential Essays Series) Paperback – April 1, 2024

Purchase options and add-ons.

What you will find in Echoes of Growing up Italian are accounts of the immigrant experience as told through the eyes of women. The Italian diaspora is one of the most significant of the 20th century, with a far-reaching impact in the Americas, Australia and Northern Europe. The Italian immigration narrative is a universal one. The stories in this book of the Italian woman in North America and how she learned to survive as she lived with two cultures in her heart and home. This collection provides the reader with a candid glimpse into the lives of fifteen women from across North America: some were born and raised in Italy while some have only been there on holidays; some are mothers and grandmothers and some are single; some only know a few words of Italian, while others are fluent, but we all have a discerning perspective on what it means to live with two cultures.

• Print length 200 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Guernica Editions
• Publication date April 1, 2024
• Dimensions 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
• ISBN-10 177183868X
• ISBN-13 978-1771838689
• See all details

Editorial Reviews

About the author.

Gina Valle’s parents were born in a small town in Calabria. Before they were 25 years of age, Domenico and Giuseppa moved to Canada and built a new life. Gina understood the responsibility that came with that decision. After completing her PhD at OISE (University of Toronto), Gina went on to found  Diversity Matters  where she focuses on making Canada a more equitable society for all. She is a writer, producer, editor, director and educator. She is a past board member of The Canadian Race Relations Foundation and the Advisory Council of OMNI-TV. She is a Director at Villa Charities, where she is Chair of Culture. In 2023-2024 Dr. Valle is a Goggia Fellow at the University of Toronto. In recognition of her work in diversity, Gina is the recipient of the Ordine al Merito, and the Queen‘s Diamond and Platinum Jubilee Medals from the federal government. Domenico and Giuseppa‘s legacies live on in Gina's children.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Guernica Editions (April 1, 2024)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 200 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 177183868X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1771838689
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
• #195 in Italian Literary Criticism (Books)
• #7,569 in Essays (Books)

About the author

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 78% 0% 22% 0% 0% 78%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 78% 0% 22% 0% 0% 0%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 78% 0% 22% 0% 0% 22%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 78% 0% 22% 0% 0% 0%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 78% 0% 22% 0% 0% 0%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

• Sort by reviews type Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Become an Affiliate
• Become a Delivery Driver
• Start a Package Delivery Business
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Become an Amazon Hub Partner
• › See More Ways to Make Money
• Amazon Visa
• Amazon Store Card
• Amazon Secured Card
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Credit Card Marketplace
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Registry & Gift List
• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

• Make a Pledge

The Way It Was: Italian America in the 1950s

We had nothing but each other to get by, and it was all we ever needed..

By: Tony Traficante, ISDA Contributing Editor

They came from the “old” country—that’s what the immigrants called Italy. As a first-generation Italian American, of the 40s and 50s, I have some emotive memories growing up Italian. I remember them well.

The thing I most cherished about “growing up Italian,” was the closeness and camaraderie shared among family and friends.

One has to understand the difficulties of Italian immigrants. In the early migration, most came from the southern regions of Italy, driven here by famine, unemployment, natural disasters, and, yes, discrimination from their own. They hoped for a better way of life. What they got was more discrimination and unemployment. They were ridiculed, hung from the gallows, and labeled enemies of the state. Although many returned to Italy, others, to wit, our ancestors stayed, toughed it out and persevered creating “Little Italy” districts, along the way.

Our community was predominately Italian, but there were also the Irish, Germans, Polish and African-Americans. We all got along with each other. Many of my friends, from attending public schools, were “ mericani,” a catch-all term identifying anyone who wasn’t Italian. And, since we spoke mostly Italian at home, it was through these “mericani” that my siblings and I became familiar with the American way.

Brushton was our community. It sat at the eastern boundary of Pittsburgh and was the doorway to future suburbs. What lay beyond those boundaries were open tracts and cultivated farmlands.

It was in these fields where Italian Moms, armed with small paring knives and shopping bags, went on the hunt for areas of flourishing “chicory,” i.e., dandelions. The greens the American neighbors called weeds. Springtime was the best time to pick them, after the rains, while the stems and leaves were fresh and snappy crisp—and before the flowers bloomed.

Single homes weren’t the norm for most Italian immigrants, as many shared living space in apartments or row houses. At first, we shared a home with two other related families, each occupying a separate floor. After Pop got a steady job, we moved into a typical four-unit row dwelling. Today, they call them ‘patioor town’ homes. The thing about the row homes was they had a large front porch. In a way, those porches served as the family room, where families spent hours socializing. Then, too, it wasn’t unusual to find someone sleeping on these porches on hot, muggy nights. At the time, air conditioning wasn’t an everyday luxury for most.

Since we had no TV, in the evenings, we often sat on those big porches listening to the old timers “che raccontavono le lori storie della Patria.”  No question from their conversations, they missed their homeland, but they thanked God they were in America.

Times were difficult for many Italian immigrants; they were going through a depression and in the middle of a war. Although the war industries were thriving, it was tough as an Italian, to get a good job. My father and many like him, when they could get work, it was as laborers, ditch diggers, street sweepers, or in the backbreaking coal mines. But they did whatever to survive and feed their families.

Life was tough, but the Italian immigrant families made the best with what they had. It was a sparing, almost austere life. Most didn’t have much, and yet they didn’t seem to dwell on their economic status. They were of sturdy stock!

The Italians shared with family and neighbors. They planted gardens, canned food items, made fresh sausage, pepperoni, and sun-dried  “la conserva.”  Speaking of sauce, who could forget Sundays, when the aroma of homemade sauce, simmered on the stove for hours, wafting out the doors and throughout the surrounding community!

Indeed, it was a simple life, but not a dull one. The immigrants had an active social life, with the family as the central focus of the Italian social experience, added to by events offered by friends and Fraternal organizations.

They may have had little, but in many ways, they had much. In the words of those who lived it, “C’er poco, ma c’era tutto, ora c’era tutto, ma non c’e’ niente.”

There was little, but there was everything…

Make the pledge and become a member of Italian Sons and Daughters of America today.

Tony Traficante, ISDA Contributing Editor

• January 11, 2020

Image Credit

iStock; Tony Traficante

Share your favorite recipe , and we may feature it on our website. Join the conversation , and share recipes, travel tips and stories.

A Lifetime of Change in America

From post-WWII to present, it's hard to believe how quickly our culture has advanced and changed.

School Day Lunches, and the Italian Brown Bag

Now that school is back in session, let's take a look back — before bus rides, high tops and processed lunches.

Two Flags, One Heart: The Creation of Italian America

Hope brought us to U.S. shores, where we turned a dream into Italian America—a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the world has seen.

When I Am Italian

Alternative formats available from:.

• Google Play
• Amazon Kindle

Read Excerpt View Table of Contents

Request Desk or Examination Copy Request a Media Review Copy

• Share this:

Table of contents

Acknowledgments Introduction: Many Missing Stones What Does It Mean to Be Italian? Quando sono italiana : When I Am Italian Waterbury, Connecticut, My Ancestral Village

Up the Farm What Crawls around Inside Us Housing Memory Blue What We Remember Go Fish Food, Food, Food, and Hard Work

Creature Life My Mother's Letter to Her Sister Hard Work and Good Food Sunday on the Farm My Only Irish Aunt Minestra Means Soup Move to America Chiesta ca , or This One Here After Eden My First New York Story, 1965 200 Square Feet in the Village, or My Soluble Fortunes My Friend Elizabeth On Not Writing My Thesis Italia, sempre italia

Part I. Southern Italy The Stones of Dialect Siamo arrivati "That Winter Evening" My Neapolitan Wedding

Part II. The Opposite of Southern Italy After the Manner of Women The Grief Estate

Visiting Our Dead My Father's Bones Voglio bene Somewhere My Bill

Can a person born outside of Italy be considered Italian?

Description

"My ancestral Italian village in America was in Waterbury Connecticut. " In this sentence, Joanna Clapps Herman raises the central question of this book: To what extent can a person born outside of Italy be considered Italian? The granddaughter of Italian immigrants who arrived in the United States in the early 1900s, Herman takes a complicated and nuanced look at the question of to whom and to which culture she ultimately belongs. Sometimes the Italian part of her identity—her Italianità —feels so aboriginal as to be inchoate, inexpressible. Sometimes it finds its expression in the rhythms of daily life. Sometimes it is embraced and enhanced; at others, it feels attenuated. "If, like me," Herman writes, "you are from one of Italy's overseas colonies, at least some of this Italianità will be in your skin, bones, and heart: other pieces have to be understood, considered, called to ourselves through study, travel, reading. Some of it is just longing. How do we know which pieces are which?"

Joanna Clapps Herman is the author of The Anarchist Bastard: Growing Up Italian in America and No Longer and Not Yet: Stories , both published by SUNY Press. She is also the coeditor (with Carol Bonomo Albright) of Wild Dreams: The Best of Italian Americana and (with Lee Gutkind) Our Roots Are Deep with Passion: Creative Nonfiction Collects New Essays by Italian-American Writers . She lives in New York City.

"In When I Am Italian , Joanna Clapps Herman asks, 'Can a person born outside of Italy be Italian?' In this collection of wonderfully evocative essays, Herman illuminates the complexities of identity as she takes the reader on her life's journey starting with her girlhood 'up the farm' in rural Connecticut with her extended Italian family. Stops in her ancestral home in Basilicata, and Turin—'the opposite of Southern Italy'—reveal that being an American of Italian descent in Italy poses its own challenges. " — Nancy Carnevale, author of A New Language, A New World: Italian Immigrants in the United States, 1890–1945 "A beautiful book. It takes us through the decades of the last century and into this one to ask what it means to be Italian long after one generation's arrival, and to consider how deep and elemental the facts of that are. This is a subtle, moving, and original piece of work—to read it is to see the world around us differently. " — Joan Silber, author of Improvement: A Novel " When I Am Italian , Joanna Clapps Herman's exquisite new memoir, begins with her rich, cocoonlike childhood inside an extended Italian American family in Waterbury, Connecticut. With its all-encompassing rituals of food, talk, and work, her family has transposed the rhythms of southern Italy to the new world. It's only when Herman leaves home—to escape the restrictions and claim her own life—that she realizes that this part of her identity does not necessarily reflect how the rest of America sees itself. With beauty and insight, When I Am Italian gives us Herman's fully lived understanding of the complex interweaving of culture and finding self. " — Lisa Wilde, author of Yo, Miss: A Graphic Look at High School Embroidered Stories: Interpreting Women's Domestic Needlework from the Italian Diaspora

Recommended for you

Growing up in an italian family, great food and terrible tempers..

Italian is defined by Urban Dictionary as "proud, honest, valued, good people, the best food in all the land and have the worst temper imaginable. Do not f*ck with us. 'Salute' to any other Italians reading this and 'nothing is more important than their family.'" I honestly could not define Italian better myself. Growing up in an Italian family has taught me all of this and more, and I am forever thankful.

It is true that Italians are proud, honest, valued, good people. Italians are very true to themselves. I was always taught to treat others the way I wanted to be treated, respect my elders, never talk back to anyone, especially my parents, always tell the truth and take pride in my accomplishments. I also was taught that nothing in life would be handed to me, and I would have to work hard to earn anything. All of these values have played a huge role in the development of my character.

Another true statement is "nothing is more important than family." I cannot stress this point enough. Since the day I was born, I have been surrounded by family. There is nothing I look forward to more than being together with the whole family. There is guaranteed laughter and love. These people are the ones that will always support you 100 percent and give you the tough love you deserve. My cousins are not only family, but also considered my friends. I would ask them for advice over anyone else. My aunt and uncles are just as important in my life. They provide me with words of advice from their knowledge of life and always lead me in the right direction. It is reassuring knowing they are only a phone call away.There is no better feeling in the world than knowing that your family will always be there for you and love you.

One of the best parts of growing up Italian is the food. Trust me, Italians can eat. Some of the best times including going to the meat store before a big party or having a seven-course Thanksgiving dinner. Every party means food leftover for weeks afterwards, but no one complains because we know someone will eat it.

I have thoroughly enjoyed growing up Italian and would not trade it for the world. I have learned how to be the best person I can be with the love and support of my family at my side. Thank you to all my family for being the amazing, thoughtful, and loving individuals that they are. I would not be here without you and I love you all.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

15 mind-bending riddles, hopefully they will make you laugh..

I've been super busy lately with school work, studying, etc. Besides the fact that I do nothing but AP chemistry and AP economics, I constantly think of stupid questions that are almost impossible to answer. So, maybe you could answer them for me, and if not then we can both wonder what the answers to these 15 questions could be.

1. Why are towels considered dirty when you get out of the shower clean?

2. who closes the bus door once the bus driver gets off, 3. why is there a "d" in "fridge" but not in "refrigerator".

Modern Kitchen

4. If you drop soap on the floor is the floor clean or the soap dirty?

Soap on Floor

5. Is the "S" or the "C" silent in the word "scent"?

Scent and flowers

6. Does expecting the unexpected make the unexpected the expected?

expecting the unexpected

7. Would Lightning McQueen buy car insurance or life insurance?

lightning mcqueen Cars Movie

8. Who put the alphabet in alphabetical order?

9. what color are mirrors.

color of mirrors

10. If 2 mind readers read each other's minds whose mind are they really reading?

mind readers

11. Is there a synonym for "synonym"?

12. if your shirt isn't tucked into your pants, are your pants tucked into your shirt.

shirt isn't tucked into your pants

13. Why is it called "quick sand" if you sink slowly in it?

quick sand sinking

14. If I try to fail, but succeed, which one did I do?

Try to Fail

15. If Cinderella's shoe fit perfectly, why did it fall off?

cinderella s shoe

Most Epic Aurora Borealis Photos: October 2024

As if may wasn't enough, a truly spectacular northern lights show lit up the sky on oct. 10, 2024.

From sea to shining sea, the United States was uniquely positioned for an incredible Aurora Borealis display on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, going into Friday, Oct. 11.

It was the second time this year after an historic geomagnetic storm in May 2024. Those Northern Lights were visible in Europe and North America , just like this latest rendition.

Here is a collection of the best photos of the October Northern Lights that popped up on social media feeds:

Northern Lights in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Northern lights in outer banks, north carolina, northern lights in massachusetts, northern lights in new jersey, northern lights in california, northern lights in bronx, new york, northern lights in st. louis, missouri, northern lights in new york city, northern lights in maine, northern lights in new hampshire, northern lights in kentucky, northern lights in myrtle beach, south carolina.

Spectacular, wasn't it?

Keep Going: 16 Reasons To Live

The world needs you..

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of suicide/suicidal thoughts.

When you are feeling down, please know that there are many reasons to keep living.

1. You won't see the sunrise or have your favorite breakfast in the morning.

Instead, your family will mourn the sunrise because it means another day without you.

2. You will never stay up late talking to your friends or have a bonfire on a summer night.

3. You won't laugh until you cry again, or dance around and be silly.

4. You won't go on another adventure. You won't drive around under the moonlight and stars.

They'll miss you. They'll cry.

5. You won't fight with your siblings only to make up minutes later and laugh about it.

6. You won't get to interrogate your sister's fiancé when the time comes.

7. You won't be there to wipe away your mother's tears when she finds out that you're gone.

8. You won't be able to hug the ones that love you while they're waiting to wake up from the nightmare that had become their reality.

9. You won't be at your grandparents' funeral, speaking about the good things they did in their life.

Instead, they will be at yours.

10. You won't find your purpose in life, the love of your life, get married or raise a family.

11. You won't celebrate another Christmas , Easter or birthday.

12. You won't turn another year older.

13. You will never see the places you've always dreamed of seeing.

14. You will not allow yourself the opportunity to get help.

15. You will have seen your last sunset, a beautiful and stunning display.

16. You'll never see the sky change from a bright blue to purples, pinks, oranges, and yellows meshing together over the landscape again.

If the light has left your eyes and all you see is the darkness, know that it can get better. Let yourself get better.

This is what you will miss if you leave the world today. This is who will care about you when you are gone.

You can change lives. But I hope it's not at the expense of yours.

We care. People care. Don't let today be the end.

You don't have to live forever sad. You can be happy . It's not wrong to ask for help.

Thank you for staying. Thank you for fighting.

Suicide is a real problem that no one wants to talk about. I'm sure you're no different. But we need to talk about it. There is no difference between being suicidal and committing suicide. If someone tells you they want to kill themselves, do not think they won't do it. Do not just tell them, “Oh you'll be fine." Because when they aren't, you will wonder what you could have done to help. Sit with them however long you need to and tell them it will get better. Talk to them about their problems and tell them there is help. Be the help . Get them assistance. Remind them of all the things they will miss in life.

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline — 1-800-273-8255

Power of Love Letters

I don't think i say it enough....

To My Loving Boyfriend,

• Thank you for all that you do for me
• Thank you for working through disagreements with me
• Thank you for always supporting me
• I appreciate you more than words can express
• You have helped me grow and become a better person
• I can't wait to see where life takes us next
• I promise to cherish every moment with you
• Thank you for being my best friend and confidante
• I love you and everything you do

To start off, here's something I don't say nearly enough : thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart . You do so much for me that I can't even put into words how much I appreciate everything you do - and have done - for me over the course of our relationship so far. While every couple has their fair share of tiffs and disagreements, thank you for getting through all of them with me and making us a better couple at the other end. With any argument, we don't just throw in the towel and say we're done, but we work towards a solution that puts us in a greater place each day. Thank you for always working with me and never giving up on us .

Thank you for being supportive with everything that I want to do. Instead of trying to convince me 'no', you're encouraging me with a 'yes' or 'you got it'. Having you as my number one cheerleader is such a blessing, because I know I'll always have someone rooting for me. And you know that as much as you're cheering for me, I'm cheering for you right back. Having such immense support for one another is so important in any relationship, and I'm so lucky to have that kind of love and attention coming from you everyday.

I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you more than words can write. I could probably talk for hours about how much I love you and how obsessed I am with you, but that's a little too much to put into an approximately 500 word piece. More importantly than telling you, I hope I'm able to show you everyday through my actions how much of a positive impact you have on my life. I'm certainly not the same person I was when we first started talking over two years ago, but I'm definitely a better person today than then, with a big thanks to you for that. You've helped me grow so much and I know you'll help me to improve for the better even more in the future.

I can't wait to see where life's adventures take us next. The only thing I know is that I definitely want to enjoy those adventures with you by my side. I promise to keep enjoying all of the little things that make every day with you so amazing. Thank you for the thousandth for everything that you do for me, because I don't know where I would be - or who I would be - had it not been you by my side all this time. Thank you for being my best friend, my secret keeper, and my confidante. And if I don't say it enough, always know I love you and everything that you do.

With So Much Love,

Your Very Appreciative Girlfriend

11 Signs You Grew Up In Hauppauge, NY

Because no one ever really leaves..

Ah, yes, good old Hauppauge. We are that town in the dead center of Long Island that barely anyone knows how to pronounce unless they're from the town itself or live in a nearby area. Hauppauge is home to people of all kinds. We always have new families joining the community but honestly, the majority of the town is filled with people who never leave ( high school alumni) and elders who have raised their kids here. Around the town, there are some just some landmarks and places that only the people of Hauppauge will ever understand the importance or even the annoyance of.

Hauppauge High School

https://patch.com/new-york/hauppauge/ev--college-night-b588e8eb

We only have one high school here, and no matter what grade you are in, everyone seems to know everyone. We are a small school with a lot of spirit. Homecoming and Kicks for Cancer are two of our huge athletic events that occur every year, and the whole town comes out to support our football and soccer teams. If you don’t go to at least one of these events, are you really even from Hauppauge?

Palace or Paradise?

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hauppauge_Palace_Diner.jpg

We have two diners in Hauppauge, where it is not unlikely you may find some teenagers hanging out there until 3 in the morning, sipping on some milkshakes, or downing some fries. The diners are a very popular place to be after any school concerts or theater productions run by the school districts.

Smith Haven, only!

https://www.yelp.com/biz/smith-haven-mall-lake-grove

Smith Haven mall is pretty much the only mall anyone from Hauppauge goes to. Sure, we have Bay Shore mall and Walt Whitman mall not too far from us, but Smith Haven mall is right around the corner. It has all the shops that any mall really should have, and a pretty good food court too. You can almost never go there without seeing someone you know from home.

That 20-minute drive

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Moses_State_Park

One real perk of living in Hauppauge is the 20-minute or less drive to almost any beach on Long Island (excluding the Hamptons). We have Robert Moses beach on the South Shore and Sunken Meadow beach on the North Shore. Whether you are in the mood for a busy beach day or a quiet day at the Long Island Sound, it is not hard to find the right spot. Since we are in the middle of the island, getting to the beach is something to really look forward to.

Restaurant Row

https://www.branchinellisonline.com/hauppauge/

You know that strip of fast food places right across the street from the middle school and high school? Well, it has officially been nicknamed “Restaurant Row.” After that 2:15 dismissal at the high school, you’ll be able to find tons of students hiking across the soccer fields with determination to get their fill of Wendy’s, McDonald’s, or Panera Bread. There is also Starbucks , Burger King, and our own Branchinelli’s Pizza… which is a whole other level of amazing pizza.

https://www.therinx.com/

So, Friday nights in middle school always ended up with the majority of us ice skating with our best friends. The Rinx also happens to be one of the best rinks on the island with many teams having practices there… yet Hauppauge does not even have an ice-hockey team…. Weird.

We are that town

https://www.888vetshighway.com/

Honestly, Hauppauge is really just that town that cars pass through while trying to get to bigger towns. Veterans Highway drives right through the middle of us and you usually just end up in Smithtown or Commack. Those two towns are more well-known for being bigger and having higher populations.

The Industrial Park

https://galluzzoteam.com/blog/hauppauge-industrial-park-on-long-island

You know that huge maze of roads aligned with dull looking buildings that seems to stretch as far as the eyes can see? Yeah, the roads that are infested with geese everywhere… The industrial park is apparently one of the largest in the nation, and its almost impossible not to get lost in, unless, yes, you’re from that side of Hauppauge.

High School Teachers

https://www.hauppauge.k12.ny.us/article/1729514

Everyone just loves this town so much, that they really never seem to leave. You really know you grew up in Hauppauge when half of the teachers in the school district went to the schools when they were kids! They know the halls better than we do!

https://www.change.org/p/chick-fil-a-save-the-bagel-gallery

Yes, this is the name of the 24/7 bagel store you have been to at least once at 3 in the morning. Hot Bagels is home to the best bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches around. It is almost impossible to go there and not wait in a huge line. That’s all right though, because chances are you’re standing next to someone you know or have seen around town.

https://foursquare.com/v/hauppauge-high-school/4bd231d777b29c74ce3f8e82/photos

Sledding at the high school is a winter tradition for all of us. Whether you are with babysitting young children or you’re with your best friends, you have most likely been to the huge hill near the soccer fields at the school. You actually get quite the rush when sleigh riding down some steep slopes and hitting some moguls!

Trending Topics

Songs About Being 17 Grey's Anatomy Quotes Vine Quotes 4 Leaf Clover Self Respect

Top Creators

1. Brittany Morgan,   National Writer's Society 2. Radhi,   SUNY Stony Brook 3. Kristen Haddox , Penn State University 4. Jennifer Kustanovich , SUNY Stony Brook 5. Clare Regelbrugge , University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Trending Stories

100 dynamic duos: legendary pairings that transcend time, grateful beyond words: a letter to my inspiration, an apology letter to the ex i will always love, a letter to my best friend on her birthday, 25 throwback songs you forgot about, best of relationships moana's top 10 life tips, 7 types of students you will meet in college, dear spiritual fathers, epic creation myths: norse origins unveiled, subscribe to our newsletter, facebook comments.