I have spent the entirety of my life living in New England. I spent the first four years of my life living in Maine and the last 14 years living in Massachusetts and the last several months living in Vermont. Overtime, I have come to feel a strong sense of place in New England as a whole. The variety of landscapes, ocean, and urban settings make it an extremely versatile region of the country.
On a more local scale, I feel a strong sense of place in the western region of Massachusetts known as Berkshire County where I lived most of my life before coming to college. Within Berkshire County, I live in a small town called Hinsdale. This place hold special meaning to me because of the people and community there that is special to me. Additionally, the memories that I made in this place, have been some of my favorites.
In my small town of Hinsdale, there are about 2,500 people. I live on a small lake called Lake Ashmere and this lake is a man-made lake that used to be farmland. This lake is where I spent most of my time as a child, swimming in the summer and ice skating in the winter. This is an example of how the past human interactions with the landscape shape my relationship with it now.
Where I grew up, I had lots of access to outdoor recreation such as hiking, skiing, and kayaking which I believe fostered a strong passion for the outdoors and my interest in pursuing a career helping the environment in some way.
Having a strong sense of place in my hometown has helped me to have a more substantial sense of belonging and care for the area. I feel connected to the place and the people in it which is a good feeling.
Since coming to UVM however, I have a slightly different connection to the Berkshires. At school I have met many people who come from urban and suburban areas that did not have access to the amount of green space and natural areas that I was exposed to in my hometown. Learning this deepened my appreciation for nature in my hometown. On the other hand, since Burlington is much more urbanized than my own hometown, being immersed in an Urban setting surrounded by lots of people, utilizing public transportation to get around, and having more options for fun things to do has exposed me to a different type of lifestyle that I found I actually enjoy. This has helped me to begin to develop a sense of place in Vermont and specifically in Burlington.
