Our
experiences throughout life affect our perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs.
Where we grew up, the people we knew, the places we lived and traveled, and what
we did all build who we are. I started the first eleven years of my life in
Cedar Falls, Iowa. A fair sized city by comparison to a typical Iowan town.
Home of the University of Northern Iowa, the Panthers. An area full of parks,
streams, playgrounds, kids running free without supervision, I was one of them,
an area I recall my parents saying was stuck around twenty to thirty years in
the past. Yes, many of us played video games indoors, but my friends and I
spent the majority of our time smashing sticks against tree-monsters, racing
twigs down makeshift streams, across an entire block during torrential downfall,
barefoot, and in soaked t-shirts; climbing into cow enclosures, and summarily
running for your life, and onto the roof of our houses conveniently accessible from
a nearby tree – the bark peeled off by shoe-sole, and branches snapped throughout.
Trees, plants, and wildlife were plentiful. The street intersecting was even
fittingly named Tremont.
 |
| The tree-monster of Tremont Street. It was created by carefully wrapping and contorting four trees together over the course of their growth. |
We
didn’t think about germs, catching a cold, murderers and kidnappers at every
corner – we ignorantly enjoyed every day to the fullest, much like how my
parents and others of their generation grew up before cable news scared
everyone to their homes behind locked doors. This was just before the boys in
black and/or blue began to occasionally arrest little girls for lemonade stands
(at least we didn’t hear about it) and take notice of kids for walking home
from school alone, without a socially acceptable escort.
These
idyllic days then ended abruptly. I moved to Michigan at eleven years of age. This
is not to say the joy completely ended, it was just a new chapter in my life
with new people, places, and experiences. A beautiful area, full of many public
woods and beaches to enjoy. As nice as the nature is, I experienced a lot of
culture shock that has its effect on me to this day. Most kids played inside. I
rarely saw my neighbors or friends after High School started. People seemed to
value consumption above all else, buying a basketball hoop to keep up with the
Joneses. I recall nearly every neighbor purchasing a basketball setup after our
family set up ours, to rarely see any of them used. Finely cut green grass, speed
boat and sea-dos, identical square foliage next to every door. In response to
this new culture, I retreated into my own interests and school work. I don’t
recall thoroughly reading a book or working on a homework assignment outside of
school until a few years after this time, at about age thirteen. This
eventually led to me going to The University of Michigan, and then today, Grand
Valley State University. In many ways change was good, but I wonder how things
may have developed differently, what choices I would have made, had I never
left my original home.
