Childhood with the depressing view

All my close friends and colleagues know where I come from, but no one knows what kind of atmosphere I grew up in. I spent my childhood here in the southwest of Moscow. Regardless of the depressing view from my room that I saw every day, I was genuinely happy. At first glance, it seemed like a scary stone jungle, which gave a feeling of oppression, melancholy, and not escapism. But when I looked out of the window on the ninth floor where I lived, I observed life in these jungles. Children played on the playground while their parents talked to each other, and old people fed stray cats or pigeons. I always watched people come to our yard and park their cars in empty spaces, but what made me happiest was watching my father come home from work and park his car. In the evening, when it was dark, everyone went home and turned on the lights in their apartments. It was a completely different picture, a different place. There was no one outside, but everything was happening inside the blocks. As I looked into the shining windows, I thought about how vast the world was, and I thought about this place, which was the world for me at that time. I haven't been to this place for twelve years, and despite the terrible architecture and urbanism where I lived, I always remember it with warmth in my heart. I can safely say that this was my place, where my life began.