In April, two years ago, I took a trip to California. It was an impromptu trip involving very little "Planning." I stayed with friends in San Francisco. I slept in my car some. I stopped to see my grandpa outside of Los Angeles. I chilled on Laguna Beach. I wrote, read, relaxed, and lived.
↑ ↑ San Francisco ↑ ↑
↓ ↓ Laguna Beach ↓ ↓ 
In April, last year, I flew up to New Hampshire with my little sister, and we met up with our little brother (who had been working Search & Rescue at a ski resort up there), and the three of us took a road trip to move him back home - a couple days in Boston, a couple days in New York City, a couple days in Florida, a lot of sleeping in the car and sleeping on the beach and adventuring and living.
↑ ↑ Relatively well-groomed in Massachusetts at the beginning ↑ ↑
↓ ↓ Lack of shower and shelter and sleep in Florida at the end... ↓ ↓ 
In April, this year, I'm in Oklahoma.
For those of you who don't know, I grew up in Boston, and when I was in high-school my family moved down here. I have lived here ever since.
I originally planned to move to Denver at the start of this year, but last fall I began dating a lovely young lady who, you know, I kind of like a lot, and...well, it was worth it to stay here a bit longer and wait to move somewhere new.
Yesterday, when I mentioned my Lucky Rock, I started thinking about the last two Aprils, and I started thinking about the influence our surroundings have on our art. I speak from the standpoint of a writer, of course, but I imagine the same holds for photographers, painters, musicians, perhaps even actors.
Honestly, I enjoy Oklahoma. It's pretty in places. The people are great. My family still lives here and many of my friends live here and life is generally terrific.
However (Reason #1 Why I Need To Move. Soon) - New England is in my blood. New England is where I belong. New England is what gives me the juice that makes me want to write. I still travel up there at least once a year (sometimes two or three times a year), and one of the primary functions of this trip is: A chance to recharge.
(Reason #2 Why I Need To Move. Soon) - I love to experience new things. I love to experience experiences. I think experiences are important for any of us who pursue a life in the arts, and the more experiences we have (and the greater the variety), the better suited we'll be to conquer our craft. Before I settle down in New England at last, I want to live on the coast in California. I want to live in the mountains in Colorado. I want to live in New Orleans, in Oregon, in Ireland, in India. I want to bounce around Europe. I want to live in a small house above the clear waters of the Caribbean.
I think it's important for us - as writers, as artists, as artisans (as bearers of light) - to experience life. To share this life with others.
Is this just me?
I'm curious, Dear Reader(s) - Do you have a place you feel connected to, a place that gives you juice?
Do you feel it's important to experience life in order to conquer your craft?
Share, if you feel like it.
Share the short link if you know anyone else who might care to share also - http://bit.ly/dxy0ln
I'm interested in sampling your thoughts...
Other Places Where I Hang Out:
↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑
(Download A Delicious Sample Of The Great Lenore,
Available From Atticus Books Summer 2011)
Play nice and share with others
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Posts
I don't need experience life to conquer my craft, but I need it for my sanity, that's for sure. I have connections to many places. Pittsburgh where I grew up...upstate New York and red-dirt Virginia where I went to visit family. Many places over the pond. Especially Stony Stratford. Perugia. Cork. Malmo. They remind me of life's urgency. I too NEED to explore the ins and outs of the US. Interestingly, it took me the experience of living in Cincinnati (ack!)to start writing a lenghty story. Oklahoma sounds nice. Ever read "New Hampshire" by Robert Frost. too long to post, but he says it all.
ReplyDeleteI've lived in Southern California, Northern Utah, and Montreal. I've traveled around the country and a little bit in France. But the ONE DAY I spent in NYC was enough to make me feel like I need to try living there someday. I felt like I was home. And ever since that trip, I've felt like something was missing.
ReplyDeleteBut so many things hold me back. One of these days, I'll wake up and it'll be time to go.
I have lived in Iowa my whole life, but I only have two years left of my undergrad and so I'm started to think about where I want to go to grad school. Originally I thought I would always stay in the Midewest because I love it here, it inspires me, it's part of me and everything I write and love. I've traveled a lot and while I love other places, I'm always eager to be back in Iowa. That being said, I've realized recently that I'm probably going to end up going to grad school on the East coast (half the schools I'm applying to are there). This is incredibly weird and frightening for me, the furthest I've ever lived from my hometown is two hours and that is where I live now. It just feels like an enormous jump to go from two hours away from home to having to take a plane home. And isn't that weird, how I keep referring to my parents house as home, even though I only spend two months out of the year there? Anyway, I'm sure when I venture to another part of the states it will yield something very different in my writing. Great pictures btw.
ReplyDeleteSarah - I like what you said about needing travel for your sanity. That's the way I feel sometimes. It's funny how everyone is so different - some people don't like to leave home unless they absolutely have to, and other people (like us) need to travel (or to "experience") periodically to feel at ease.
ReplyDeleteKaren - Like I just said to Sarah: Everyone is so different. Isn't it awesome! I would never want to live in NYC, but I love to visit. I can see the appeal, though - I think that, for the people who "belong" in New York City, they'll never really feel right anywhere else. (Conversely, people who "belong" in Boston would probably hate their existence if they lived in New York!)
Ash - It's nice to have a safe place, isn't it? A place where you can go back to. I bet you'll enjoy the East Coast if you go there, and you'll learn a ton and grow, but if Iowa is home, then Iowa is home! You'll always return home :) [P.S. I LOVE Iowa, btw. Gorgeous, gorgeous state.]
Great post! I was born in California, and I moved to CT with my family when I was 5. We used to make visits back there every year to every other year until I got into high school. I miss it, and love the state.
ReplyDeleteNew England is great. But, I see a lot of people here who think nothing exists outside of NYC. I'm so used to traveling because of road trips, weekend trips, and day trips my parents used to take me on. Being independent in college meant I could make my own decisions where I could go.
My first international travel was Sicily for 10 days, by myself! It was with a tour group, but holy crap was it an experience. I'm Italian, so it felt good to get a sense of the Mediterranean. The next international trip was Tuscany and Umbria with my father, then Barcelona with my father and a friend. Hehe, does the Canadian side of Niagara Falls count too? It should.
Chicago is awesome, and New Orleans is amazing. I love places where the people have a pride for their community and surroundings. New Orleans is like no other. I feel I just need to see new places and meet new people to get juice and be recharged. Home is always home, but seeing places outside of the safety bubble of New England is essential.
I need to see Australia, Hawaii, the British Isles, Alaska and the rest of the United States before I die. I'm a die hard romantic and tourist to the core, and I don't care who knows!
Jennifer - I love how passionate your response feels! And I love what you said about pride for community and surroundings - New Orleans and Chicago definitely fall in that category! One bone to pick with you: NYC is NOT part of New England! (Even though it seems like about 82% of Americans make that mistake!) New England = Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and (the eastern half of) Connecticut. The New England mindset clashes entirely with the NY mindset, hence the importance of distinction. Of course...one area in which the two ARE the same is exactly what you said! People who have decided to believe that there is nothing outside of New England, and there is no reason to ever leave.
ReplyDeleteOk, ok...let me clarify...and all of CT is in New England...People in New England travel to NYC and think that is as far as they need to go. WRONG! Hehe, you want to see mindsets clash? Try going away to school in upstate NY.
ReplyDeleteI love all the parts of this country I've seen so far...though maybe Texas can be given back...TRUCE TRUCE
I applied for school at U Oklahoma and got in. Now THAT would have been interesting.
Jennifer - Ahhh, I got what you were saying. I think we agree about everything there...except the part about all of Connecticut being in New England ;) Considering your travels, I would agree - OU would have been interesting for you! I'm pretty sure it's the quintessential "Middle of Nowhere" school!
ReplyDeleteI do think you need to experience life to the fullest, but I don't think that requires traveling. Not that the exotic and exciting doesn't do a body good sometimes, but I don't think one should need them to feel like they're really living. Breadth is great, but depth is what matters. :)
ReplyDeleteWhich kind of connects to having a place in your blood. Having roots. If you don't have those roots then traveling amounts to little more than drifting.
That being said ... I grew up in Michigan, but my parents were from Philadelphia, and always talked of Pennsylvania as home. Which I kind of imbibed from them. So I grew up thinking of myself as an exile. I haven't sorted out yet how this relates to my writing.
Got turned on to your blog by a buddy, really like it. I'll be back for sure.
ReplyDeleteAhhh - apologies for the late response; very hectic weekend.
ReplyDeleteRosemary - I like what you said about depth and breadth. I think it's important to have a place where you have roots, or a place to which you feel connected.
Marc - Thanks for stopping by, brother. I'll be seeing you around here!