Simple question: Where are you from?
My answer is a little complicated.
I live in Simpsonville, South Carolina,
by way of Kent, Washington
by way of Farmington, Missouri
by way of Sheridan, New York
by way of Kent, Washington
by way of Silverdale, Washington
by way of Eva Beach, Hawaii
by way of Bangor, Washington
by way of Bremerton, Washington
by way of Groton, Connecticut
by way of New London, Connecticut
by way of Bremerton, Washington
by way of San Diego, California
by way of Bremerton, Washington
by way of San Diego, California
by way of Norwich, Connecticut
by way of Somersworth, New Hampshire.
by way of Dover, New Hampshire.
Aren’t you glad you asked?
Even I get confused.
After checking with Mom, I added Somersworth to the list. Makes for a eighteen moves in thirty years. As a kid, I went to eight elementary schools – one of them three different times – two middle schools and two high schools. As an adult, I’ve moved four times. I cannot say for sure for how long I’ve landed here in South Carolina. Today, I’m here and have no plans to leave.
I wonder who I would have been had I been raised in fewer places. Less open minded. Less adaptable. Less independent. I suspect I’d have been less of a nerd. I would have been more mainstream in my thinking, you see, growing up with a consistent peer group to measure myself against. To think I might have read fewer books, found learning less important or not developed a love for classic science fiction. Horrifying.