My concept
of home has been a recent development in the mind. While I know our views on the
aspects of our lives change frequently, I consider my concept of home to be relatively
solid. Home, to me, is South Wilkes-Barre, PA; I have never lived anywhere
else. However, when I think of “true” home nowadays, I don’t so much think of
the town itself. I think of my family and friends with whom I share the
hometown with; it’s the memories and connections that have the most meaning.
 |
| Photo Credit |
This concept
of home seems to clash with some of the characters’ (from the book, Now You See
It...: Stories from Cokesville, PA) notions of their town. Annie and
Theresa both yearn to escape Cokesville; they seem to want to move onto “bigger
and better” places and lives. Annie’s way of leaving is a bit milder compared
to Theresa’s, who chooses to live a seemingly superficial life as an actress.
Annie instead tries to remain true to her dream of becoming a successful
writer, even though she struggles majorly with finding a comfortable identity.
I believe
the clash between my concept of home and these characters’ concepts is due to
our experiences and perceptions of our towns. Quite frankly, Cokesville and its
population have a tragic aura about them. The town has centered on grueling
manual labor, such as steel making and coal mining; the livelihoods of the families
in the area depended upon these strenuous and dangerous jobs. Especially during
the time period the story is set (essentially 1950-1990), these industries
defined the lives of most who lived in Cokesville. These industries, while
providing needed income and steady work for a good number of years, were also the
source of horrible deaths and terrible economic strains (as the industries shut
down) which devastated families. When Annie and Theresa think of Cokesville,
their home, I believe they cannot help but associate the entire tragic history
of the town with their personal lives.
 |
| Photo Credit |
While
Wilkes-Barre does have a history of being in the coal region of Northeast PA, I
grew up many generations removed from that time period. Wilkes-Barre nowadays,
while certainly not the picture of a perfect town, doesn’t have such an atmosphere
of desolation as Cokesville; it is practically thriving in comparison really,
haha. As a result of this, my hometown has simply been the humble background of
countless memories of my life; it hasn’t defined my life. I do acknowledge that
where a person grows up certainly affects them indefinitely, however
Wilkes-Barre hasn’t influenced my feelings on my home in a significantly
intimate way.
Therefore in
picking a college, I preferred to stay closer my hometown because I wanted to
remain in close proximity to my family, not necessarily Wilkes-Barre itself. My
preteen self would be quite shocked by this decision since I used to dream of
going very far for school. I didn’t really imagine going to a famous city or
exotic location, rather I just dreamed of “escaping” what I deemed to be boring,
old Wilkes-Barre. I think everyone at some point in time gets tired of their
surroundings and imagines that the grass is greener on the other side, haha.
I’ve come to
appreciate Wilkes-Barre for what it is and how it has been my hometown. But
like I said in the beginning, I focus on my family and friends when I think of
the definition of “home”; wherever they are in my life, that’s where I consider
myself at home. It’s interesting to read the book and see how people such as
Annie and Theresa have been so deeply affected by their town; it’s unfortunate how
the tragic aura of Cokesville has warped their perspectives on “home”.
Hopefully by
the end of the book Annie and Theresa will make some peace with where they come
from.
 |
| Home in my dorm |
