As a child of a single mother I moved around a lot, something that seems common in such a family.  Almost like gypsies, we traveled near and far.  Near was my birth place, Munster, Indiana; and the far (the farthest) was California.  But mainly, we lived in Munster, and I called it home from preschool to sixth grade.  When the summer of sixth grade came around my life began to change again.
    There is a place called South Haven, found on the west coast of Michigan. I was familiar with this town, and always looked forward to going there for a family gathering.  My Uncle Mark and Aunt Josie owned, and still do, a beautiful home right on the beach.  They were well off at a young age, and lived a life of style and relaxation.  When thinking back, the drive up is always a blur, but I never forget the feelings that conjured when we pulled up the long gravel driveway past the towering ferns, where just behind sit the mighty, white plantation-style home.  A modest white, wooden fence embraced the rolling greens of grass and plant-life that so warmly extended the house’s beauty.  Upon entering the home I would be greeted with a sense of elegance and hospitality.  There was always a collie, Josie’s breed of choice, always first to say hello. The moments had in this place and perspective were spent dining, beach going, and playing hide-and-go-seek. I loved this place, but what I loved was not the community, it was the rare and exotic experience I always looked forward to. My home and friends were in Munster.  To me, the town of South Haven was my Uncle’s house, and that all I knew or needed to know until the summer of sixth grade when I moved there.    

    Ever since moving to South Haven In the summer entering 7th grade, I have searched and explored the many facets of this city/town/place as a freedom craving, skateboard wielding, adventure seeking, and growing boy in a small town.  Moving to South Haven from northwest Indiana was strange for me, which is natural for a child, but the general difference and isolation I found here was sort of a culture shock.  I felt an advantageous perspective though, as I have lived in many different places growing up, but South Haven only knew itself; I found this to be both a good and bad thing.  When one knows the self there is a pureness and innocence to this one; but the naive, ignorance to a bigger picture leaves one susceptible to influences of any sort.  When I think back to my most distant South Haven memories I feel a tropical vibe of a sort. I look at this “tropical vibe” as an influence South Haven once succumbed to; this however being a positive influence.  Upon entering the 7th grade, my observations and experiences in South Haven, as well as previous locations, had led me to a new found confidence – within and beyond the isolation.  I was susceptible to my own influence.   

   I was refreshed, not particularly happy, but refreshed. I missed my friends, and had the notion that I was not going to lose what I had. This faded. I was now the new kid, popular, and generally liked, but I really did not care. This only reinforced my confidence, that being myself and not letting my head grow led my way. I got straight A’s, skateboarded all the time, and found my friends; this continued and grew. Sometimes I think what I would have become if I hadn’t moved to South Haven. I suppose things happen for a reason, but I realized something. It does not matter where you are, but who you are and what your doing. I followed this notion and still do today.  South Haven will always be my home, but I have grown out of it in search of new opportunity. Maybe I will return, but only time will tell.