When I moved here from Guam two and a half years ago my biggest fear was the shear difference in size between the two places. In Guam, an island with a population of about 160,00 people, I went to a school of barely 400 kids. Here, a city with over 400,000 people, I was to attend a school of close to 2,000. In Guam I knew basically everyone I went to school with; the whole community itself was extremely close knit. The kids you went to school with were the same ones you saw on the weekends, the same ones you worked with, and the same ones that lived next door. Everyone there was displaced from the families who lived back in the mainland so we all became each other's extended family. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and nearly every other holiday (whether it was usually accompanied by a feast or not) became a huge neighborhood party. All we had was each other and we celebrated that every chance we could. You would see a car pass you on the road and know exactly who it was, and you were likely to run into so many people you knew (and were probably pretty good friends with) whenever you went to the grocery store or the Navy Exchange. I knew that this tight knit community was something that I would crave and miss dearly when I moved back to the states.
It came as a huge shock to me that people here lived right down the road from where they grew up, from their grandparents and aunts and uncles. That was something I'd never had before; my family had always lived at least a days drive away so visits we sparse. I didn't grow up getting together for family dinners once a week or going to church on Christmas Eve with the whole family. I literally couldn't wrap my mind around the concept of living so close to my family that you could see them almost everyday. When you go to the grocery store here you aren't very likely to run into a friend or anyone who know for that matter. Cars would drive past on the boulevard and when I realized I didn't know whose car it was I was reminded of just how big this town is. For a long while after moving here I found the immense size of this population overwhelming and over all depressing. I longed for knowing all the kids in my school again, heck I would even settle for just knowing everyone in my classes!
Today though, two and a half years later, I was reminded that this area is a small world after all. I spent the day with my very good friend Morgan at two of our favorite places: Panera for lunch and Starbucks for studying. It seemed like every time we turned around at either of those places we laid eyes on someone we know. We literally ran into probably 15 people that we are buddies with. It was a huge reminder to me that a community is only as big as you let it be in your mind. Seeing all those people all over the place today, while it's still not Guam, really reassured me that this place is awesome and filled with really great people that I love running into. It also reassures that I've actually made friends here, but that's besides the point. I think it's safe to say that I am definitely going to miss this place next fall, no matter how ready I am to get out of dodge.
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