That one question is always asked when meeting new people: “Where did you grow up?” As much as I would love to have a short and sweet response to it, I never do. That’s what you get when you grow up constantly moving to different cities and states. For me, I say how I was born in Los Angeles, California, then when I was five moved to Boise, Idaho, then when I was eight I moved to the small town of Orono, Maine, for a quick year, headed to Pocatello, Idaho, until I was a sophomore in high school and now currently reside in the friendliest small town in America, Murray, Kentucky. I usually end up breathless by the time I finish and with someone’s sympathetic eyes staring back at me. If they would’ve given me those eyes back in my pre-teen/early teen years I would’ve completely agreed with it, because what’s more devastating than having to move to a new place and make new friends to a teenager? Nothing, expect for maybe Jesse McCartney having a girlfriend. Now, as a 21-year-old senior in college, I don’t feel bad for not having grown up in the same place with the same people, I feel incredibly privileged and fortunate. By the time I was 15 I had the experienced so much more than the average teenager. Moving coast to coast and sometimes in between, I was able to understand different cultural norms, meet incredible people and see all the landscapes that the United States has to offer. I developed the ability to adapt to places and situations, which no doubt gave me the confidence to apply for summer internships where I knew absolutely no one.
Don’t assume that my not having a hometown is a crutch that I lean on. It’s a pedestal that I’m proud to stand on. I didn’t meet my bffs in first grade, I met them my junior year of high school and freshman year of college. I didn’t have a favorite professional sports team, since I never grew up with one, instead I’ve gotten to cheer on some amazing collegiate athletes in every town I lived in. I didn’t have one house with a kitchen door frame with the marking of my growth spurts, I have had 11 houses that each hold memories of baking with my mom and playing with my dad.
What is a hometown anyway? It’s a place you call home that holds all those special memories you hold dear, but all these places I’m willing to call home. There’s a piece of myself that I can credit to specific towns I grew up in. Not having one place that I specifically call my hometown isn’t something to be embarrassed or regretful about, it’s something to celebrate, in my opinion. I didn’t have to deal with the same boys watch me go through puberty for all those awful braces-filled years. I never felt what it was like to outgrow your childhood friends, which I’m totally not sad about because I’m an emotional person and probably couldn’t deal with that at all. I got the chance to start over so many times, even though sometimes I thought it was unnecessary. I got to own at least three different college cheer outfits by the time I was nine, which was obviously AMAZING.
I think not having a hometown gave me a sense of never being confined. It gave me the mindset that I could go anywhere in my life. So for all you folks that feel bad for yourselves about not having one place to call home, get over it! You get to call all the places you grew up home, and trust me honey, it makes you way more incredible.
