I decided to book it straight out of my hometown the second I got the chance to. Whitehall, Pennsylvania is only known for its proximity to Allentown, PA. Nothing magical happens here. We have a Sheetz and a Wawa, a mall and Planet Trog. Other than that, nothing. After high school my ticket out was college. Here's what I've learned since leaving.
1. Everyone asks you if you knew/ know Saquon Barkley.
I mean, he was a few years ahead of me and did I see him in the halls, yes, but do I know him personally? No, but he's the only celebrity Whitehall has and we are all very very proud of him. Go SeSe!
2. You will miss The Ruins every day.
This was the place to escape. Even though everyone had their cliques and group of friends, The Ruins were our home. It is the one place we all just went to get away. We've all left our marks on those stone walls, trellises, and railways. We all know how to get there and are always willing to show the next generation where to go to find this beautiful place. I miss laying in the gravel of the big church looking at all the art around me and feeling the energy of everyone else who had been there before me.
3. The air and water are SO MUCH cleaner EVERYWHERE else.
Being from Cementon means smog and water that seems clean because you're right next to the water plant but you're also next to the cement factory and basically I blame all my teenage breakouts on the water. Cementon postponed my Glow Up.
4. Nobody but Whitehall People understand the difference between the Boroughs of Whitehall.
Fullerton kids grew up closer to the mall and Jefferson Park, typically always seen and almost only ever seen in those two places or at the football games. Stiles kids are the ones going to Giant for fun, or the park. Wait, what do Stiles kids do? The kids from Hockey were pretty chill and so were the Coplay kids cuz they had more room to roam. But the speed limit thing in Coplay is a little extra. Coplay, in general, is a little extra.
They have their own separate police force. Darktown kids basically live on that one singular street but in my experience are some of the coolest kids ever (@ my best friend). Egypt is known for baseball. The kids that grew up here are super cool, mostly athletes or science kids but or both. Egypt people are quite alright (@ my other best friend). Cementon however, is like the armpit of Whitehall, unless you're from Upper Cementon, you don't count. Lower Cementon is like the armpit of Whitehall. We have the river, the cement factory, and the pool.
We have the BEST hills to skateboard and the most immediate access to Northampton. Only the best kids come from Lower Cementon, but then again I'm biased. Armpit Proud! Oh and then there's Fox Hollow, it's like a fancy black hole that no one really knows who actually lives there unless you live there. We're excluding South Whitehall here because y'all are Allentown, just admit it.
5. Just say you're from Allentown.
No one actually knows where Whitehall is unless you say Saquon Barkley or The Lehigh Valley Mall, but let's be honest most people think the mall is in Allentown anyway.
6. College students got nothing on Walking to Wawa
People always talk about college kids not caring if they get hit by a car when crossing the road. Nah, they're amateurs compared to crossing MacArthur Road to get to Wawa. You step out into the road and if they hit you, oh well.
7. The Epic Food Chain battles
Wawa vs Sheetz? Qudoba vs. Chipotle? McDonald's Vs. both Wendy's and Burger King? Chic-Fil-A vs. Everyone else? The only one that hands down always wins is Asian Dynasty over all the other Chinese food places in town. Try to change my opinion.
8. You all watch each other's lives unfold on social media now.
Now, we just watch each other's stories Snapchat or like each other's glow ups on Instagram. When talking to your friends from back home at some point someone says "Can we please discuss So and So's glow up?" Let's be honest, we were all trolls before we left or graduated. Now we're like amazing successful people who are confident and unstoppable.
