Bioregional Thinking

When I first read the article, I didn't understand it. Then I realized my vocabulary is lacking in a lot of places, which made me sad for about two seconds, BUT THEN I realized, heck, I can still share my thoughts on this subject, ONCE I understand it. So I read the article again, and now my brain's wheels are beginning to spin. What I got from this article is that often in life people think that to discover themselves, they have to leave thier home and travel abroad. I also got the idea that in this day and age, people are belonging less to the land they inhabit, and just merely existing upon it instead of living IN it, or WITH it. When I lived in South Pasadena, I felt like I never really invested myself in the town I lived in. I walked the streets, admired the tree's and the quaint old houses that my little town was so famous for, but I never really felt like I took more interest in my town past admiring the scenery. I did have my favorite places, like Buster's, which was a local coffee shop, but besides that, I felt like there was so much more to the town that I let pass me by. I also felt like I didn't know the state I lived in very well either. In California, I visited the beaches, but I only stayed in Southern California, so I judged the state harshly, thinking it was all brown and smog ridden like L.A. was. When I took the train to Seattle, I saw all of the beautiful parts of California I had never seen before, and I was sad that I was leaving California for the first time.
Living in Seattle has been a whole new experience for me. I thought I would find a new self here, which is partly true. I have found a new Stacy here, but the Stacy that grew up in sunny California is still with me. I have been trying to really get to know Seattle, because after I left California, I vowed to put down roots in Seattle and reallly undertsand the culture and surroundings of the new place I was living in. So far I have been doing pretty well. There is only one thing I wish was different. The apartment building that I'm living in now was recently built, and this past week they put these stupid trendy marketing stickers all over the bottom floor of the building. The stickers urge people to live in the new apartments, saying that "It's the place for trend setters!" I really hate it because it looks like marketing threw up all over the building. One thing I love about Seattle is all though it is a growing city, it still hangs on to mom and pop stores, and awesome old places like Pike Place. I also love that there are so many projects going on around the city that embrace the original Seattle and it's beauty. Sculpture park is one of those examples. One thing I know for sure is, I am definately taking advantage of the awesomness around me. Next weekend I think I'll take a ferry to one of the islands across the bay. I've never been.