(clap)
- Hi, I'm Eliza.
I'm an 18 year old girl living in Manhattan.
I go to The Dalton School where I'm a senior.
This is my dog Barnaby, and this is my house,
so welcome to it.
(upbeat music)
I've lived here since I was three.
I used to live on 69th Street
and then we decided to move around the corner
from my grandparent's.
- [Woman] So your whole life really then
has been like Upper East Side?
- [Eliza] Right here.
It doesn't have a wrap for being
the most interesting neighborhood which I wish it did,
but this is where I am, and this is what I love.
- [Woman] Are you leaving New York for college?
- I am.
I'm going to Cambridge.
I don't like that.
It's weird.
What are you supposed to say?
I guess that'll be a new thing and then I'll come back
and not live on the Upper East Side.
Today I'm meeting up with my friends Clare and Rachel.
So we're gonna go get lunch,
and then we're gonna go prom dress shopping.
Rachel's been at Dalton since Kindergarten.
She's like, blunt, and I'm like sensitive and wimpy.
Turns out that's a pretty good combination.
- How are you doing?
- [Eliza] Clare came in ninth grade.
- Hey buddy.
- Hey buddy, you don't like hugs.
- [Eliza] She's super artistic and interesting
and like really good at being friends with older people.
I made a friend who's going to school with me,
but my current friends aren't really gonna be.
They're not gonna be around me.
I signed up for pre-orientation
and like moving day and everything,
and it's gotten me really like freaked out.
I don't know what I'm nervous for, but I know I'm nervous.
I don't know anything else other than like this.
I'm like what am I gonna do during the summer
knowing it's like the last time that I'll hang out
with my friends or like the last time
we'll all be in the city together for a really long time?
- [Young Woman] I'm so hungry.
- [Young Woman] I'm so starving.
- We're gonna first get the avocado toast.
We'll get a half bird.
- The waffle. - The waffle butter.
Thanks so much.
- [Waitress] Do you have a fourth person coming?
- Nope.
- It's enough food for three, maybe.
- That's a three person meal.
- We're gonna look like Millennials
who are always on our phones,
and we're gonna get shit for it.
- Phone pile. - Phone pile.
- [Clare] Phone pile.
- Uno.
- You better put it in if you don't want
your screen to be cracked.
- First one to grab your phone pays for the entire meal.
Alright half bird, come at me.
- Honestly the best friend chicken I've ever had.
- Now we're eating a lot
and then we're gonna go try on dresses, so.
- Maybe we should walk there.
- It'll be fine.
- Suck it in.
- Permission to take my phone from the phone pile?
- No.
- I just wanna take a picture.
- No, alright fine, one.
- I feel like you don't have the best angle
for the lighting, though.
- I had to explain to my mom what basic meant this morning
and it was like really actually kind of hard.
She though it meant like original
or like simple like but it's not,
it's more complex than that.
- I've had to explain that to my parents so many times.
(electric guitar music)
- Are you gonna go with her?
And I asked him like, multiple times.
- And he was like, you ruined it,
what are you doing, blah blah blah,
like, way to go Eliza.
And I was like, "Okay."
And then they fucking hook up so what do you want?
- Yeah, I know.
- I just don't understand why boys can't
just answer questions straight.
- I know.
- Everyone's always like, "Girls are so complicated."
I'm like, "We're really not if you're just,
able to handle normal things and like understand."
(pop instrumental)
- I love this, personally.
- I think you should try on that one.
- [Rachel] This looks like something that my grandmother
would wear to sleep.
- But I definitely...
- You like this.
(laughter)
- You like this. - It's so pretty, though.
- I know.
- You should try it on.
- I'll try it on.
What is, I can't even tell, what is the hemline?
- It's a no from both of us.
- Okay, alright.
- What about this one, Eliza?
I actually think you'd wear this one?
- I would not.
- I think it's pretty.
- No, no.
- I, wow.
- This is such a nice color for you.
- Is it?
- Can you try it on?
- Okay, I'll try it on.
I'm informing you.
- You look kinda like Cinderella dress.
- What about this one? I can't even tell.
- Not my vibe.
- This is so your vibe, relax.
- Not my vibe, not my vibe.
- Yes it is.
- It's not my vibe.
- It's appliqué.
- It's not my vibe.
- It's quite interesting.
- I strongly dislike this one.
- I really like that it's gold, but this is a lot,
but I really like that it's gold
and also you can see my bra straps.
- I don't think you two could see yourself
at prom with this dress.
- If I woke up and I was like,
"Woah, I'm at prom and I'm in this dress."
I would be perfectly happy.
- I do like that dress.
- I know, I knew you were gonna like it.
- Oh, that's a good one.
- This is very Rachel, I feel like
- Yeah.
- It's much more your style.
You should try it on.
- Thank you.
- I would never really expect to see that color with you.
- No, it's true.
- But it works, it looks nice.
It also, like, looks good with your hair color.
- Yeah, you look good.
It makes you look blonder
- Ah, yes, yes.
- I don't know.
- I think you're just indecisive.
- Yeah, I am.
- She's indecisive, she can't decide.
- You guys are so lame.
- Oh my god.
- I like it.
- It looks so pretty.
I love it.
- I love the color.
Does it make a nice...
The back is a lot.
- Prom's your last big event in high school.
Do you feel like this is how you wanna be remembered?
- Yeah.
(whispering)
- [Rachel] She's also done greater things
besides looking nice at prom, so.
- Yeah.
- [Rachel] You know, like, she, like, created
a magazine so that's pretty cool.
Something to be remembered by.
- [Eliza] Something that's actually gonna last.
- Should I leave the sleeves down like that?
- Yeah.
- Yeah you are.
- I really love your dress.
- I'm taking another one.
- Oh!
(mellow instrumental)
- [Eliza] I feel really nervous about the future in general.
Like, up to, like, a week in advance I won't.
Like, I'll shut, like my mom tried to talk to me
about summer and I was like, "No, that's, no.
Summer's like, not real."
Every top college tour we did, I was like,
"Does everyone find their people?"
and every time the guide was like,
"Yes, everyone finds their people."
I feel secure enough in real friends,
I don't feel like, Oh my god, they're gonna replace me.
Like, when they go to school and they find their people
and like, I'm not gonna replace my friends.
As we get closer and closer,
I'm actually like, quite excited.
I get very excited like, thinking about,
like my friends growing up 'cause like,
I'm just so excited to see like,
who they're gonna be.
They're gonna do such cool things.
It's just gonna be awesome.
Whatever they do is gonna be awesome.
And I hope they think the same of me.
(slow synthesizer music)