Just One of Them City Girls

Last night at Goody’s, Bryce and I got into a conversation with a newer employee at IA who lived in New Mexico her whole life. She had chickens and horses and knew everyone growing up in her town. She said that coming to the city is a culture shock, and even though she’s been here a year, she’s just becoming adjusted to it.

I never realized until last night just how “city” I am.

What hit me the most was the fact that she knew everyone in her school. I responded with, “If I knew everyone in my school I would speak 7 different languages.” It’s true!

Growing up 10 minutes from Boston is definitely part of the reason I’m whatever way that I am. I’d blame the city for my impatience, my ADD, and even my bitchiness.

A lot of people think I don’t like them. (And it’s probably because it’s generally true.) I start out either disliking people, or not thinking much of them at all. Then the more time I spend with them, the more I start to like them (or strongly dislike them). I find myself not trusting many people. And I’m not trying to be a bitch, I just… I don’t know what to think of people.

Lately, there are people on the House Teams that I love hanging out with… particularly Mike “TDH” and Ryan “Plaid” (in addition to my usual folks! These are just newer friends.) But sometimes I find it hard to trust people’s motives. Ryan naturally fell into the group – but Mike was hand-picked (I sound like such a douche right now). And when we started hanging out, I thought: “Is he hanging out with me because he likes the attention?” or “Is he hanging out with me because it’s making him more known at the theater?” or “Is he hanging out with me so he can get closer to Dan Faneuf?” These were the questions going through my mind, because trusting people is such an issue, when I should have thought, “Hey, maybe I’m just fun to hang out with!”

But this is all a part of being from the city. Your friends are your friends and they’re lovely, and your enemies are… everyone else! We’re all rough around the edges! In large groups we’re total dicks – constantly vying for attention, and one-upping each other. But one-on-one we could be the sweetest people you’ll ever meet! (Not me, of course.)

But, I do love being from the city. Ceri talked about clear blue skies and beautiful landscapes and how the desert is magical. That’s all well and good – and I’d love to see it! But to me, nothing beats being from a city where you can’t see the stars through the polluted air, a nature walk is a man made stretch of grass, and one of our most famous sites to behold is a giant neon Citgo sign.