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Last night I dreamed I was back home in Providence. I was walking along the river at night time and it was raining. The cobblestones (yes, along the river its paved with cobblestones, its really pretty) were slick and the light from the Victorian lights along the promenade were reflecting in the wet all around. I walked into Water Place Park and rested against the railing of the main bridge across the river. I was full of such a happy feeling. When I woke up, I was kind of sad to find myself in New York.

I miss Providence. But I don't want to go back penniless. I want to make something of myself and maybe settle downtown in one of those nice condos that they recently built. Or maybe in a cute house on the East Side. Big dreams, I know.

Who'd want to settle in Providence? The crime rate on the North Side is horrible, the government is corrupt, the schools are s**t (even Classical, my old elite high school, I hear is becoming s**t), the mall has lost half its stores. But its home.

The pros:They do fireworks sometimes and the fireworks reflect across the glass buildings and makes it look like there's fireworks everywhere around you. You can also go into the channel 6 parking lot and get sprayed with firework debris because you're too close to the action. There's little festivals in Water Place Park where you can buy blue glow jewelry for a dollar and watch people risk their lives dancing with fire. Not to mention the Water Fire festivals. This is where they light little fires in the pre-made log recievers all along the river and people come out to watch. Its very calming in a strangely mysterious way. Btw, there's also gondola rides.

There's little art movie houses where their seating is old couches. They have an entire street devoted to esty.com-like crafts from way before there ever was an etsy. This same street, at night, becomes like a Providence Harajuku with weirdly dressed kids walking around and staring at you. There's a lot of little street cafes on this same street.

The city is full of history in tucked away little corners. Such as, if you travel far enough into the East Side, you'll find this tiny park with a statue of Rhode Island's founder and beyond him is the most magnificent view of the whole of downtown. You could throw a frisbee and just watch it fly toward's greater Providence, and you really can because all of the police are in the North Side. Speaking of the East Side, its full of wondeful well-kept Victorian mansions! Forget Newport's Cliff Walk, okay? Just drive on the East Side of Providence. Its so beautiful. This is where I want to live.

If you drive in the other direction, you may eventually stumble into Roger Williams Park. My god, Roger Williams Park. There's a giant zoo with famous polar bears and a dinosaur exhibit that comes every year. There's 2000 jack-o-lanterns lit along the zoo path during Halloween. There's a lake that does boat rides. There's swan boats. There's a gorgeous Japanese garden with little islands and bridges you can stroll around on. There's a giant rose garden where people like to get married. There's strange temples made of marble everywhere that are on such a massive scale that you feel like you are in another world. There's a huge goose pond where you can throw Cheez-its at the swans and they eat them off of their backs. And oh my god there is a genuine Victorian carousel inside this gorgeous semi-encosed building. I can't describe its beauty. Its very well kept and is in continuous operation. Inside the building you can buy cotton candy and popcorn in a box. There used to also be a mini-train ride, but its shut now. There's a lot of green hills where you can play frisbee with your friends. There's a mini forest of weeping willows and wisteria where you can play hide and seek or just walk amongst. I must have spent a third of my childhood in this park.

I will go back some day. Maybe it won't be the same because things change, and Providence was hit really really hard buy the recession. But some of it has to be the same. I'll go back.