The families in Johnstown are generational. Streets seemed to be named after families of the area, and I cannot go to Sheetz, Walmart, or the Galleria without stopping for a quick chat with at least one familiar face.
These kids I now attended school with played in the sandbox together growing up, just as their parents did, and just as their grandparents did. How could I compete with the level of intimacy this small town shared? I was the new girl, the nobody. Little did anyone know, I contained an arsenal of information unlike anything they had ever experienced before.
My father's military affiliations are what brought me to Johnstown in the first place, as well the three other states where I previously resided. I like to believe I am adaptable to change.
It is inevitable that the world is forever changing around us, and some people hardly leave Johnstown long enough to see that. Johnstown is known widely as a Boomerang Town. Copious amounts of students graduate and leave the "Dirty J." Pittsburgh often becomes their new home because they want to experience the "city life," yet they want to remain close to home. No matter how much these students talked about making it big in New York or Los Angeles, Johnstown always finds a way to call them home.
In my case, I had moved around so much that I never referred to this town as my "home," nor will I ever. I have certainly lived here the longest, made many friends and memories that I will never forget, but Johnstown is not the place I want to live for the rest of my life. I have a vast set of experiences previous to this life in Johnstown, and I do not plan to stop here.
If I was given a map of the East Coast and a red pen to illustrate where my extended family lives, the coastline would light up like a Christmas tree. I have lived in Louisiana, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, and I currently have family in New Jersey, Maine, Massachusetts, and South Carolina. Most people in Johnstown leave for a week-long vacation to the Carolinas for their beaches, and that is, unfortunately, the extent a family would leave their hometown. I am eager to leave at any chance I have. Having family that lives hours away allows me to have a new appreciation for the precious time I share with them, and that appreciation sometimes lacks here.
My personality has molded to fit my unique situation, I like to believe I have become a more well-rounded human being because I have been exposed to the world outside these city limits, and I am constantly craving a desire for new adventures that stretch beyond this town. I do not intend to diss Johnstown in any way. I believe that this is a great town to grow up in but not stay in. People learn and grow from experiences outside of their comfort zone. I simply had a head start.
