Where We Are Now

Photo: LN_Photoart/Pixabay

During my life as a child, my family moved quite a bit. In the first twelve years of my life, I lived in Charleston and then Lewisburg, WV, moving to Knoxville, TN before moving to Memphis, TN, on to Columbus, OH, and finally to Chicago, IL , where we spent a rock-steady six years. When I tell this to people, many are aghast at this steadily constant change as a child, and usually say something along the lines of ‘How awful to be exposed to constant change when you were so young!’ The first few times I heard this, I was quite surprised, as my memories of these events, the change, new people and schools, was quite pleasant, and even exciting. This was normal. I realized as I grew older and watched kids moving into the Chicago area struggle to find friends, be accepted by peers, and try to bring pieces of their own past to their current situation, I realized that they were struggling, and I did, in complete empathy, reach out to them, starting with a ‘Hello.’ While that ended up with a few friends, many were wary of the new society of which they were now a part of, and yet, still trying to figure out how to navigate these new circumstances.

One of the things I realized, much later as an adult, is that I was taught to go into these new situations with an open mind and a curiosity bred by the travel I had done in addition to living in new cities and states. Both of my parents worked hard to help my sister and I adapt to the new places, making sure we understood where we were now, its history, and we established ourselves in this new place by joining a church where we felt welcome, and that welcomed our presence, as well as becoming a part of our school life, with after-class clubs and sports as well. Learning about our new city, its history and our place in it made us care about where we were, and to look for ways we could make it better. Of course, what this created was an attitude of making the most of where we are now. We still had friends in the old places, with whom we kept up with via letters, postcards and the occasional Holiday or Birthday phone call. 

With the world we live in now such a transient place for so many, the secret to making the most of where we are now is not looking for the next move, as one might think, but of making where we are now the best situation for us, right now. Learning, teaching, taking part in the events, celebrations, community service, school, work in a specific place imbues us with a specific knowledge of that place and its people, but more importantly, it teaches us to adapt freely and easily, and that we can improve things just by deciding to learn new means and ways, and beginning to see our new circumstances with new eyes…where we are now.