So many formative moments in my life happened in my local mall. I live in the exurbs of NYC and the mall was the only sensible, safe meeting place for my friend

So many formative moments in my life happened in my local mall. I live in the exurbs of NYC and the mall was the only sensible, safe meeting place for my friends and I. Notably, it was a place where we could hang out without parents around. It’s hard to defend the existence of malls. I think they’re a symptom of larger problems concerning community design. I also think that they encourage excessive commercialism. Still, none of that changes what the mall means to me.