It's Not Too Late: YSC, Day 35: Brianna

Prompt: "The song that you're always reminded of whenever you see a particularly memorable family photo"

Selected by Brianna

"Complicated"

Avril Lavigne

Let Go, 2002

There's a photo I cherish from one of my most special childhood traditions. It's myself, my siblings, and our motley crew of neighborhood friends. We're standing in the backyard of the (first) K*** home, dressed in our best luau gear, arms wrapped around each other. The day is our annual Shelbourne Street block party—the best day of the year. 

Shelbourne Street was once a secluded little nook of a road that lined the train tracks of the Fox Chase line from above, a.k.a. the perfect street to allow kids to roam free and enjoy the sweet freedom that only truly exists in youth. We grew up on Shelbourne in the golden years, before cell phones ruled social interaction and the internet could only be used when Mom wasn't waiting on a phone call. We ran from house to house, bare feet and all, playing games of our own creation until dinner time. My memories of this street and the people that lived there are among the favorites of my life. And among the highlight reel of this childhood joy was the Block Party.

Each year, our parents would close down the block for a day of games for us and drinking for them. Bingo under the big oak tree outside of the McC***** residence, bike races down the hill past the K***s', and even a dunk tank one year—we had and did it all. Over the years, a couple of us began to think creatively about what else we could do. My sister Jenn, myself, and a couple of our closest girlfriends on Shelbourne, Lisa and Kait, decided to put on a performance.

We spent weeks preparing and practicing our favorite song of the time: "Complicated" by the punk-pop princess herself, Miss Avril Lavigne. We each had a small singing part, with backup dancer roles to perform when we weren't center stage. Ask me then, and I think we deserved a Vegas residency to share our talents with the world. Ask me now? Maybe, we weren't at that level yet. But, boy, did we have fun. 

Sometimes, I feel a little sad for today's kids, who (for safety and technology-based reasons alike) may not get to experience those same kinds of days in their childhood. I also feel a little sad for the kids in the picture, who are never going to get those days back—especially since one of those kids is no longer with us. But then I have a day like this past weekend where I get to watch my nieces play in the grass with toys and imaginations in tow, and I feel better again. Life may be different now than the childhoods of our past, but kids are still kids. And I am so excited to see what kind of five-piece girl group performances my nieces are going to put on for us along the way.