If You Give a Kid a Playground…
There are many things to do in our area but when you grow up here; it gets really boring. Sure you have the mall, arcades, and the movies. But after you’ve hung out in these places for so long that you just get bored and tired of them. These are just your all year round things. When the different seasons hit like summer you have water parks that open up. But even then there are so little of them that they get so crowded and hard to enjoy. To get a teens point of view I asked Alexis Suarez, a student at Riley High School, what she wished our area had and she said “ Literally more places to experience, I know places that have multi animal food places and all we have is a cat Cafe which I love but I wish we had so much more. Or more parks for teens or young adults.”
Our area also has museums and car showings but these tend to get really boring because the art never switches up. These tend to get boring unless you are really into arts. These kinds of things are more so for the adults than the kids. So I asked Francisca Clark what she would add to the area to make it better for the adults. What would it be, she said, “For adults, more dancing places, or better entertainment facilities that would bring in bigger names for concerts and/or comedy tours.”
I wanted to get further insights on what the adults think about this area and what they enjoy the most. Francisca Clark then said “Notre Dame home games. That’s probably about it.” There are so many Notre Dame games you can go to and they have lots of events. But these can get really pricey and they’re more for the adults than for the kids most of the time.
Our biggest tourist attraction we have here in our area is definitely Notre Dame games. These bring so many people, but that’s all South Bend is really known for and besides the games there is nothing much to do.
South Bend can be a fun and calming place to visit as an adult but as a teen or young kid there can be very little to do. A lot of people travel to Chicago or Tennessee because there are just more things to do. Our downtown also does not have anything but bars and courthouses.
Although our small little town does have many things to do they are very seasonal things. Like in the winter you’re able to go ice skating and skiing, where in the summer you’re able to go to parks and hikes more. But even with all these things some people aren’t outdoor people and they’d rather enjoy things in a building. So I asked Owen Liskey, a teen living in our area, what he wished we had more of and he said “Having more areas to hangout”, Alexis also said the same thing.
One thing that is really cool about our area is The Morris Performing Arts Center. Once in a while they put on shows and fun things to go to. But these don’t come often; they happen here and there and is not consistent for teens or even adults to enjoy.
South Bend can be a great place to visit and to have fun at Notre Dame games. But for those who live here it’s more of a hassle when football games are in session. And there aren’t many things to do here, even the mall is small and boring. If you love to eat, we have some pretty good food but you get tired of the same thing over and over. And for those who want an adventure they tend to go to neighboring states rather than our local areas.
