The first time I really ventured out in the world for an extended period of time was when I went to UConn for my masters program. A cadre of teachers from around the world went through the Three Summers Program. As I got to know my new friends, it was the first time people asked me about where I was from and what it was like to live in Nebraska. I remember at first I didn't really have an answer. I wondered to myself, what does it mean to live in Nebraska? Where do I come from? For the past eight years I have been thinking about this from time to time - picking up little things here and there that will help me claim my state. Time has passed since I went through my masters program, but I do recall with fondness one of my UConn friends rarely calling me Jen, Jenny, or Jennifer during our time together in Connecticut, instead he called me "Nebraska" and I wore that name with pride. I hope the place conscious writing class I am taking now will help me dig in to search for some answers to what it means to wear that name and what it means to be "from Nebraska".
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI loved this posting! I can just hear that guy calling you "Nebraska" as though he connected who you were with a real, living place. I think most people live their lives in one place without even giving it another thought as to what it really means to inhabit a place--to care about it deeply. I hope you discover much richness in your search and journey to understand your place. Thanks for sharing your lovely writing.
These are some wonderful pictures and thoughts - some of the many on your blog! I had a similar experience to you the first time I traveled to the east coast...I think I was the first person from the Midwest some people had ever met. First I felt I should laugh with them and be self-deprecating; then, I surprised myself by feeling very proud of where I was from. I'm glad to hear you wore your new-found name with pride in Connecticut.
ReplyDeleteJennifer,
ReplyDeleteI love your notion of a bubble, of home (place) as sanctuary. Your photos did an amazing job of telling a story, of reflecting back to me (someone from outside the bubble) of what makes that space so magical for you. Thanks so much for this view. I look forward to seeing more of your work.
Jennifer-
ReplyDeleteI love the line about people calling you "Nebraska" and you having pride in that nic-name. It reminds me of a conversation I had with my writing group in the NeWP this summer. At one point we were talking about living in Nebraska when one of my group members said one of the most insightful things I had ever heard--he said, "I've stopped apologizing for living in Nebraska...I love it here." This was the first time that I realized that I do love this state and that I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Thanks for being proud of our place and for reminding me of that conversation :) Looking forward to hearing more from you!
Jennifer:
ReplyDeleteI want to add my voice to the comments Aubrey and Danielle have offered, about how it often takes going away from somewhere to learn to see its richness. I gather this was what summers in Connecticut did for you--allow you to see Nebraska as "exotic" and hence interesting? One of the writers we'll read later in the course, Charlotte Hogg, tells a story of moving away from Paxton, Nebraska to Oregon State for her MA in Creative Writing, and only *there* discovering that the assumed things of her life *here* were worthwhile. The wind. The sun and humidity. The feel of clay soil or sandhill soil when the irrigation water first hits it. In Oregon, these details were so fresh her writing was immediately loved by the creative writing gurus.
"There and back again" is of course a huge theme in American Literature. A main character leaves Hometown, gets cultured/rich/wise elsewhere, and then comes back--and what does the local community make of that character now? This is an enduring place-conscious theme for our nation. You are living it alongside all the characters in Fitzgerald and Faulkner, Cather and Morrison, Stegner and Proulx.
~Robert
Hi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteIsn't it curious how Easterners view Nebraska? My daughter, who went to college in Baltimore, was teased about it all the time--they think we have corn in our backyard and pigs running in the street! And they think I'm crazy for living here. It's great that you returned to your hometown to teach. I like your distinctions of your home place, where you grew up, and the place you claim. I hope you will teach me how to claim and treasure Nebraska.
Hi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI love your “I am from” poem and the way you focus on different items of clothing. I’m always looking for new ways to use this poem form with my students, and this is another great idea! Through this form, though, you clearly capture your growth in your place(s) and the emotions intertwined with each sort of milestone moment.
The photograph of your parents backyard and your memories there are beautiful! What a peaceful place. What a place to be grounded in.
I’m intrigued by your experiences leaving Nebraska and the light they shone on what it means to “be from” a place, particularly Nebraska. I do think getting away from our places, even for a short amount of time, can be most helpful in understanding these places that shape us in such significant ways.
Thanks for the great introduction to your places.
Mary