Where did you grow up?
Did you grow up in the big city or the country? Maybe you grew up in a smaller town or a smaller city? Did you enjoy it or couldn’t wait to leave it? Maybe you never left it. I grew up in a small city called Belleville Ontario just 2 hours East of Toronto. The population of my home town is just shy of 50,000 so it’s not so big, but big enough when you’re growing up. I remember being totally in love with Belleville while I was in High School. I couldn’t believe that there might be places out there that could compare to it. There was out little comic book shop which I remember seeing my first Omaha the Cat Dance issue. Our mall was the best and had all the shops I needed or cared about. I remember riding my bike all over that city, then walking all over after my bike got stolen. Even after my girlfriend (soon to be wife) and I left after high school, we still held home close to our heart.
We grew up though and began to see Belleville in a different light. We noticed that people that didn’t leave for school became stuck there. Some (not all) of the people we knew from school bounced from job to job or ended up working in factory jobs. Belleville is a conservative, blue collar city at it’s core and if we stayed there we would not have been able to achieve everything we dreamed of. It’s a fun place to grow up for sure, but I’m very glad that I left. It made me realize there is a place beyond my hometown and to stop looking at it through rose coloured glasses.
There is one song out there that always makes me think of my growing up. It’s from a Canadian band called Blue Rodeo and the song is called Better Off as We Are. Give it a listen as see what you think.
I hope that others kids that that live there will make the same discovery and not allow themselves to get stuck. Because you can always go back and visit. It’s not like it’s going anywhere, but they should be.
Play Asia
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:58 pm
I grew up in suburbs, but the school wasn’t very good.
I soon moved to live in the country for about 5 years and I loved it.
… then I moved back to suburbs, and hated it again due to the school.
Later on, I spent a few years in Arizona for college and it seemed almost suffocating. No naturally occurring life. I’m not an outdoor person, but I’m used to it being there behind the scenes. Arizona is the sort of place where you can live there for years and have every day be almost identical.
I then moved back to NY state. I’m really glad I did. It may not have much in the way of jobs, but being surrounded by life and family is worth more in my opinion.
May 22nd, 2012 at 11:12 pm
I’ve pretty much been a native of the St Louis area my whole life. I first lived in the suburb of Woodson Terrace just south of Lambert Field, so I was used to hearing jet noise all the time. Then my family moved west to St Peters, MO where we lived for many years. My current home is St Charles, MO.
I too discovered Omaha The Cat Dancer in the early 90s. She was my first look at what could be called ‘furry’ art and what was possible with anthropomorphic characters.
May 23rd, 2012 at 12:35 am
I grew up in a tiny little town called Petawawa,out in the middle of the Armpit of Nowhere in Ontario,which is about six hours north of where I am in Toronto,which is a stone’s throw from Humber’s North Campus.
Petawawa is a TINY town. If someone isn’t a soldier,they’re a farmer. It wasn’t a great place for me; nowhere near enough tech. Only time will tell if Toronto will be any better.
May 23rd, 2012 at 8:54 am
I spent most of my childhood in a very small farming town in central Michigan. I think the pop. while I was there was less than 2000 people (maybe around 5000-8000 in the entire school district?). Most of the people there were horribly undereducated, and racism, sexism, and homophobia (and just about every other ism/phobia) was far too common.
I remember never fitting in there as a kid. I was always interested in geeky things, and most everyone else was interested in sports (though, the introduction of the NES did mitigate this to some degree). I had some friends who were like me, but they didn’t have the opportunities that I had. Some of them made it out, but I lost track of most of them (haven’t talked with any of them in years).
I didn’t recognize it until much later in life, but I this probably had a lot to do with the education of my family. While most of my childhood friends were lucky to have one parent with a college degree, both of mine had graduate experience (mom didn’t finish her masters, for familial reasons). On top of that, three of my grandparents had at least a bachelor’s (Practically unheard of, where I am from. I was very fortunate.).
I don’t consider that place my hometown, though. When I was entering high school, my family moved to a small city (pop. ~100,000) in Southeast Michigan. It is mostly a university town, and is entirely unlike where we had been. The people are educated, the culture is diverse, the intellectual pursuits are lauded (not to mention several flourishing arcades, comic/game stores, great food, and a thriving counter-culture), it was like heaven compared my prior stomping-grounds. As soon as we moved I felt as though I fit in. This is the place that I consider my hometown.
This is not to say that I don’t have fond memories of that small farming town from my youth. I learned to swim, sail, and almost drown in its lake. I spent time building forts and stalking friends in the forest. They have a nice little 4th of July fair there. And I’m thankful to the few souls in town who encouraged me in my interests. I just don’t consider it home.
Also, that song/vid really strikes a chord with me. (that pun wasn’t intended, honestly)
May 24th, 2012 at 9:13 am
I grew up in a small sitty as well, about 100.000 people population, but the city different from the one on picture, we had way bigger houses (about 5 – 17 floors mostly), but tons of nature as well, also parks, trams and such. Now im living in the relatively bigger City and it sucks, almost no nature at all and people everywhere you look, i realy miss little things like almost empty cinema, sometimes i and my friends were only one in there 😀 lots of cultural things that i cant enjoy in big city because of all the crowds of people.
May 24th, 2012 at 8:36 pm
At first I thought that read “I grew up in a small shitty…” Also, did you really have 5 to 17 floors in one house? Wow!
May 25th, 2012 at 12:48 am
hehe “sitty”, i blame my broken keybord for this, it was meant to be “city”.
Well the population there was twice as big as in Belleville, so there were no one family houses, more like bigger ones.
May 25th, 2012 at 1:07 am
Also, my city was only half as big as Belleville, i kind of miss this place but i dont regret moving out, at all. I just wish my new place had some more nature to offer.