There’s definitely something to being content wherever you are. There are a lot of wonderful things about Wilmington that I enjoy even though I’m not from here. Feeling like I fit in is not my highest concern about a place. I think it’s possible to dream about something else while remaining content in a place, so that’s what I’ll keep on trying to do.

Jesse and I have always wanted to visit Seattle. When we save up enough money, that’s first on our vacation list. You’ll have to give us some recommendations for what to see, where to eat, etc.

I think you can feel like you belong to a place, but I don’t think the locale will be the determining factor. I feel like I belong in Wilmington, but I don’t belong in the South and esp. not in a southern beach town. It’s a slow lesson in contentment that I will probably struggle with my whole life. I have always wanted adventure and different, changing scenery but God has something different for me and I have to learn to submit my plans to Him. Not that I think there is anything inherently sinful about wanting to be somewhere else, but it can turn in to discontentment and really effect every part of your life (trust me, I am speaking from experience). And I do think that it has a lot to do with personality. Melissa feels like she belongs here and loves it. I know plenty of people who feel the same way. That is just not me. So for now I will stay a Seattle-ite living in a southern beach town, ha! (I say that with no regret. I love my life!)

Sabrina: I do wonder if it’s a Florida thing to not feel like you’re from anywhere. Or, a thing you get when you’re raised in a place where you weren’t born. I don’t think I felt like I was from Florida really until I left, and now I realize I identify with that part of the world probably more than any other place. But that could also be because I had the feeling that most of us Floridians weren’t really from Florida either, so there was a component of shared non-identity, or at least the perception of it. If you ever move to Hawaii I should be very interested to hear whether that becomes home-like, whether you feel rooted there in a way that’s new, or what.

Betsy: You’re adorable. I can do Cheerwine, but I don’t know what livermush is and don’t think I want to find out…

Dave: I often forget that you’re “from” here. You don’t seem Southern, really. What I wonder is this: Am I looking for something that doesn’t even exist? Is it possible to feel one belongs to a place? My parents feel that way about West Virginia. They were born and raised there. But, I don’t have that. Maybe I am intrinsically different; perhaps it’s a personality thing. There’s another part of me that says, though, if I could just manage to end up in California or the Pacific Northwest…but I wonder if I’d get there and “find” my Southern self coming out. Maybe I just like contrast.

I guess that is what a wandering heart does to a person…

Also, this State Fair you speak of sounds delightful.

I never really feel like I’m from anywhere. Maybe it’s a fractured identity thing. Or maybe it’s a Florida thing. Silly as it sounds, so far, Hawaii is the only place I’ve ever been where I actually felt like I truly fit in (because just about everyone is of mixed heritage and the odd ones out are the ones who aren’t!) I think maybe you’d feel like you’ve set down roots in NC if you had children there, who identified with things like tractor pulls and whatnot.

I’ve only had one “bolled peanut” in my life, and it really wasn’t bad. Very much exceeded and defeated my expectations. Still, I’ve only had one. After your description, I’d like to try them again… just maybe not from a roadside vendor.