By now you're so familiar with the assertions that they register as nothing more than blogging tropes: it's been too long, I need to focus on this thing more, I need an outlet, et cetera. Yes, all true, but I'd like to break the chain there by admitting I really do have time to write, even if only a little bit. And, truth be told, t's not just a matter of writing, but more constructive self-reflection, and maybe a little self-discipline to boot. Even in the midst of what's a pretty volatile time, I want to make sure I set aside some time to regularly engage the part of my brain that's been lying dormant since... well, since my newspaper days, and maybe even longer.
And thanks to the wonderful Becca I've found something that I hope will get me back into the game. This Blogtember business seems right up my alley, as it's got ready prompts, structure, and generally accessible subject matter (me!). True to myself, I spent so much time thinking about this throughout the first day that I never actually got to do it - and upon waking up this morning, barely remembered what I was going to write in the first place. So today's a double-post for the purposes of catching up. Do forgive me for the delay, won't you?
Tuesday, Sept. 3: Describe where or what you come from. The people, the places, and/or the factors that make up who you are.
My parents come from similar backgrounds, but their diverging life paths and associated experiences have given me a perspective I'm pretty glad to have. From childhood, my father took care of his family and could confidently be called blue collar, moving from farm work in the Old World to factory work in the new. While I'm glad to have inherited his work ethic and his general tolerance, I'm also happy I've come to value leisure more than he does. And I think his sense of contentment with very simple comforts is something I've inherited to a degree (but still strive to live up to). My mother rose from a very humble background to become a fairly influential attorney before moving here and becoming a homemaker, and while her life gave her a somewhat negative reaction toward the political system under which she lived, the lesson I took away from her experiences was that any system in which large sums of money are the biggest barrier between you and your dreams is a system that doesn't give everyone a fair shake. I guess ambition, too, but the social justice thing is probably a more important component of my day-to-day functioning.
Both my parents valued reading a great deal, and some of my earliest memories are of snatching old magazines or newspapers and pretending to read alongside one of my parents. While I'm no literary buff, the joy that books bring to my life is immense.
I'd be dishonest if I claimed that being raised Catholic didn't have an effect on me. While I wouldn't call myself particularly pious, I think that background did teach me a lot. I learned how to function in a community where I don't often get along with (and sometimes entirely disagree with) other individuals, even while working toward the same goal. I learned that people are flawed, but for the most part they try to be decent, and I should work on the same. And as a child, priests taught me more than anyone about allegory, ambiguity and just how open to interpretation everything is - that rarely is an idea perfectly clear or set in stone.
And finally, the great city I was born and raised in. From childhood I got to experience it in several different ways - warts and all - and what's resulted is a complex, qualified admiration and a fierce pride in where I'm from. Whether it's my own ethnic background that I continually enrich my knowledge of thanks to its history, so heavily intertwined with that of this city, or exploring the diversity on offer, I always feel as though I'm learning something new about my home. I'm not sure I could ever leave - not for long, that's for sure.
I think that's a good start. Let's hope future prompts take me far less time to think about.
No comments:
Post a Comment