It is true of any culture, I think, that one's hometown is an important part of one's identity. It is a source of pride or an indicator of humble beginnings or sometimes both. One's hometown isn't necessarily your birthplace or even the place where you were raised, I think--it could be, I guess. But I really think it's where you came into your own, where you became who you are now, or where you realize who or what you've become.
While in college I began to feel like St. Louis was perhaps my true, coming-into-my-own hometown, like it was the city that I loved most and like I would never again live in a place where I grew so much as a person. But then I came home, back to Birmingham, and realized that there has been so much more to learn about myself upon arriving at the place of my childhood.
But the thing about it being a hometown is, I venture to think, that at some point you're supposed to leave it behind. It's not your hometown if you're still there, are you? I think that only makes sense.
And, to that end, I can say that Sharon and I are ready to leave it behind. Birmingham will forever be special in my heart, but it's long past the time...
While in college I began to feel like St. Louis was perhaps my true, coming-into-my-own hometown, like it was the city that I loved most and like I would never again live in a place where I grew so much as a person. But then I came home, back to Birmingham, and realized that there has been so much more to learn about myself upon arriving at the place of my childhood.
But the thing about it being a hometown is, I venture to think, that at some point you're supposed to leave it behind. It's not your hometown if you're still there, are you? I think that only makes sense.
And, to that end, I can say that Sharon and I are ready to leave it behind. Birmingham will forever be special in my heart, but it's long past the time...
Whaaaaat? You can't end in the middle of a thought like that! LAME! AND you didn't respond to my comment! But seriously, that was the worst ending ever. WHY do you want to leave? Didn't you learn anything in college about composition? Geez, heh.
ReplyDeleteIt's my dream to eventually move back to DC, though I can't imagine it being for a while since living in DC is expensive, so I would need to save up some money first. The grass isn't always greener, I've always liked it best right there in MD. And family is the most important thing to me, I can't imagine just randomly moving away from them. Of course, you probably have better reasons than randomly moving and some stupid sense of "you're supposed to leave", but of course we'll never know because you fail at blogging and didn't complete your post! ;)
And again, that was Andrew Barnes. Dang, you didn't even say where you were thinking about moving, you just put vague references to St. Louis in there. Seriously, this blog is written by a bunch of amateurs, I should try Sharon's blog to see if it's any better :P
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