Jill Carlson - 11th Grade Winner

I haven't always lived in Trumansburg. My family moved here from Kansas after my mom got a job at Cornell in 1994. My earliest memories were of driving up Route 96 and onto Washington Street to my new house. I had never lived in a small town before; I had always lived in the country where the grocery store was ten miles in one way and the school was eight miles the other way. In Trumansburg, I live ten steps from the grocery store and eight blocks blocks from the school. I remember celebrating my first New York birthday at Richards' Bowling Alley for a fun night of bowling and pizza, and getting together with out-of-town friends at Taughannock Park.

There's a real sense of community in Trumansburg. In the winter, our neighbors used to freeze over their basketball court and we could go ice-skating. In summer, our other neighbors would invite everyone over to go swimming at their pool. Every summer, our street has a block party with everyone hosts at one time or other. I remember going to the Rongo for an open mic night last year and eating chili and walking down the middle of the street at Festival of Lights. I could never thank enough the people who stopped at all the chicken barbacues and supported the various causes they were for. I have never seen so many chicken barbecues since I've moved to Trumansburg. I remember walking to Tom Lange's funeral and being so nervous that all I could think was that I was wearing red and how inappropriate that was. I remember crying at Amanda Haight's calling hours, thinking that that could have been me, and how much I felt the community in that moment when someone gave me a tissue.

I'll never forget the way the water pours over my back while standing under a waterfall in the Trumansburg Creek. I remember the 100-degree heat when a friend and I tried to walk to Taughannock Park with one water bottle between the two of us, and the chill from winter when people have given me a ride home so I didn't have to walk. I still own one of the "old-school" Ulysses Philomathic Library cards, and I remember the familiar smell of old books that would fill the air in the old library when you walked in. I remember studying for Regents with my friends when the new library opened and watching the construction that made the library possible. I like the fact that my family can decide to go out to eat, or order a pizza from Ron Dons on days we don't want to cook, and going out to the Village Cafe' or Falls Tavern for breakfast before school. I can hardly remember a time when I could get anywhere within twenty minutes on foot, or have a "night out on the town" for five bucks.

I like living in a place where I don't have to be extremely concerned whether I locked the back door, or be anxious about walking alone at night. While I sometimes wish I had a movie theatre, rec center, or bowling alley in Trumansburg, I think some of the quaintness would be lost. Trumansburg is a blend of old and new, but it will always be a place you can go to find a sense of community unlike any other.