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“And He said, ‘Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.’” That’s from Luke 4:24, if you, reader, are so plebian that you don’t know the reference. (That is heavy sarcasm, by the way.)
Small towns are often seen as embarrassments by those who figure that they are too high and mighty to come from such a place.
To be honest, I believe I fall into this category too often.
On one hand, maybe in some ways it makes sense that I sometimes feel this way: throughout my teens, I lost my ability to walk. Not suddenly, but painfully slowly. At a time when psychologically, a child’s biggest need is to fit in with the crowd, I stood out.
When all I wanted was to gain some acceptance, I felt like no one knew what to do with me. It was easy to blame my small town on not knowing how to treat me. It seemed logical that in a more urban area, I wouldn’t have felt so ostracized.
However, the big realization: I thought my town was so ignorant because they didn’t treat me ideally, when I myself had no idea how to cope with what was happening with me. Rather than look inwardly and look at myself as not coping with my issues, it was easier to blame my hometown.
And that, readers, is the definition of the psychological term projection. I made my hometown the source of ignorance, instead of confronting my own ignorance.
(Speaking of assigning blame, why I fall in the category of being too high and mighty for my hometown may have nothing to do with my disability and may only be a character flaw.)
Looking back on my own life, the mindset I had when I was 15 was very narrow compared to my mindset today. I believe everyone feels this way. Instead of attributing that changing mindset phenomenon as normal psychological development, I tend to geographize it, and blame the atmosphere of the place as being narrow-minded.
(Yeah, I made up the word “geographize.” My blog, my rules.)
I firmly believe that an important part of development is to move away from any area that is familiar (at least temporarily) to experience life in a different, unfamiliar manner.
However, this does not demonize the familiar area. A common mistake of mine is to accept some personal growth and think less of the way I was before. This way of thinking replaces “potential” with “ugly,” and is ultimately a defeatist scenario.
Sometimes though, amid tragedy, we rediscover the goodness of people.
Two eleventh-grade girls from my high school were recently in a terrible car accident. Both lost their lives.
I tend to criticize Facebook often, but to see the prayer, hope, comfort, loss, and helpfulness of my hometown has been illuminating. Above all, these people are genuine. And to me, that is the crux of all noble traits.
From the prayers to the hopes to the pictures of homemade crosses with the girls’ names to a website with a schedule of who is going to prepare the family’s meals when, the outpouring of care from my hometown has awed me.
It’s easy to forget what really matters amid lofty intellects and classy locales. Sometimes, though, it’s important to see beyond that and appreciate what really matters.
RIP Morgan and Sarah. I didn’t know you personally, but you’ve helped me realize what’s important to focus on. I’m proud to be from Opelousas.
Opelousas
For M.A. and S.J.
It’s easy to criticize your hometown, especially if you travel yonder later in life to places where there are more city lights and less stars. You can even quote the Bible if you’re feeling especially snooty.
“And He said, ‘Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.’” That’s from Luke 4:24, if you, reader, are so plebian that you don’t know the reference. (That is heavy sarcasm, by the way.)
Small towns are often seen as embarrassments by those who figure that they are too high and mighty to come from such a place.
To be honest, I believe I fall into this category too often.
On one hand, maybe in some ways it makes sense that I sometimes feel this way: throughout my teens, I lost my ability to walk. Not suddenly, but painfully slowly. At a time when psychologically, a child’s biggest need is to fit in with the crowd, I stood out.
When all I wanted was to gain some acceptance, I felt like no one knew what to do with me. It was easy to blame my small town on not knowing how to treat me. It seemed logical that in a more urban area, I wouldn’t have felt so ostracized.
However, the big realization: I thought my town was so ignorant because they didn’t treat me ideally, when I myself had no idea how to cope with what was happening with me. Rather than look inwardly and look at myself as not coping with my issues, it was easier to blame my hometown.
And that, readers, is the definition of the psychological term projection. I made my hometown the source of ignorance, instead of confronting my own ignorance.
(Speaking of assigning blame, why I fall in the category of being too high and mighty for my hometown may have nothing to do with my disability and may only be a character flaw.)
Looking back on my own life, the mindset I had when I was 15 was very narrow compared to my mindset today. I believe everyone feels this way. Instead of attributing that changing mindset phenomenon as normal psychological development, I tend to geographize it, and blame the atmosphere of the place as being narrow-minded.
(Yeah, I made up the word “geographize.” My blog, my rules.)
I firmly believe that an important part of development is to move away from any area that is familiar (at least temporarily) to experience life in a different, unfamiliar manner.
However, this does not demonize the familiar area. A common mistake of mine is to accept some personal growth and think less of the way I was before. This way of thinking replaces “potential” with “ugly,” and is ultimately a defeatist scenario.
Sometimes though, amid tragedy, we rediscover the goodness of people.
Two eleventh-grade girls from my high school were recently in a terrible car accident. Both lost their lives.
I tend to criticize Facebook often, but to see the prayer, hope, comfort, loss, and helpfulness of my hometown has been illuminating. Above all, these people are genuine. And to me, that is the crux of all noble traits.
From the prayers to the hopes to the pictures of homemade crosses with the girls’ names to a website with a schedule of who is going to prepare the family’s meals when, the outpouring of care from my hometown has awed me.
It’s easy to forget what really matters amid lofty intellects and classy locales. Sometimes, though, it’s important to see beyond that and appreciate what really matters.
RIP Morgan and Sarah. I didn’t know you personally, but you’ve helped me realize what’s important to focus on. I’m proud to be from Opelousas.
Even though the city lights are nice, sometimes I miss the stars.
verboseguy 