Umm....are you kidding me? I have been trying to make these posts short and sweet so I could catch up to the challenge. But this....well I am an Army Brat so...I will do my best to remember all the places I lived!!
-Fort Hood, TX - I was born here. That was good. I don't remember the bad at this point.
-Darmstadt Germany - we moved here when I was only a few months old and stayed for 4 years. Though I don't really remember this time I would say the best part was probably that my Grandparents were also stationed in Germany at this time and so we lived closer to them than any other time in my life. Oh and also my little brother was born here! The worst part? I don't know...probably how cold it is there!
-Lampasas TX - this time in Texas I do remember a bit better than when I was born, though I was still quite young. The two things I remember (and thus we will count them as "bests") are that all three of us (my brother, sister and I) shared a huge bedroom. When I got older I am sure that would have been a worst but I remember it being a lot of fun at that point in life. Also there was someone in our neighborhood with a trampoline and I remember having so much fun on it! I do not remember a worst from this time period...I am sure my sister or parents could fill you in
(at some point - I think around here we lived for awhile in Georgia while my Dad was in some sort of training or something of that sort. I don't remember much other than taking a towel with me to Kindergarten for nap time. It wasn't much cushion so I guess that would be a worst....)
-Heilbronn and Stuttgart Germany - I am so glad we had another stint in Germany so I could remember living there! There are so many amazing things I remember about this time in my life. Probably I would say BEST was all the traveling and the places we saw. I loved going to Berchtesgaden for our Nazarene assemblies, it was my favorite! Also there were castles and museums and volksmarches and a trip to Sweden and...all kinds of amazing memories. Probably the worst thing about this home was that during this time I became aware of the Nazi/Jew history in Germany. I really struggled with the idea that people I lived around and went to Church with etc. had been alive during that time and had "allowed" such a thing to happen. It was very hard for me not to be angry at all of the German friends we had made.
Copperas Cove Texas - so as you can tell we went back and forth from TX to Germany a lot. I am not sure I have the places where we lived each time exactly right. But I do know at this point we lived close but not on the base in TX. The best part of this time in my life was my church. We went to church in Belton TX (we did when I was younger too but I don't really remember). I was involved in Bible Quizzing and my best friend was at church, I had so much fun! The worst part, for me, was coming to grips with racism for the first time that I remembered. One of my best friends at school was a black girl, which meant nothing to me. But there were people who had issues with it and I remember watching her struggle and being so sad about it. In Germany on the military base there was such diversity that we never even thought about things like that. Or maybe I just was too young to notice. But it was sad for me to see how people could treat others unkindly just because they were different.
Fayetteville North Carolina - This was one of my favorite places I ever lived! We were here during my Jr. High years and though most people list those as terrible times, I LOVED it! I had an awesome youth group at church, I had a group of cool girlfriends at school. I had a crush on boys at church and school (not that they liked me but it was still fun). It was a great time in my life. I would say the best parts of this time were youth events. We went to camp every summer which are some of my favorite memories, and we were involved in district things as well. The worst part of this time is that I began to have low self esteem. I had so many beautiful friends and people were starting to date and "like" one another and I began to be very self conscious. I was a nerdy girl with bad hair and glasses. No one ever liked me and I was very jealous of many of my friends at this time.
Nashville TN - so then my family moved to Nashville. I was SOO mad. I wanted to go to college in Nashville and I felt like they were taking that away from me. Also they were taking me away from my best friends and my favorite place we had ever lived. I remember crying every day that I did not want to go to school. I am sure that was the worst. Just getting over moving. It was not a fast thing! The best thing, however, was when I finally did. In high school I auditioned for a play, got a lead role and that lead to a place in the schools highest choir. This led to more friends than I had ever had. I enjoyed my Sr. year of high school more than I ever enjoyed school anywhere. My best friends had always mainly been from church, but this group of people I just adored. My self confidence finally began to rise at this point and I started to realize I had talents to offer and things I was good at. It was a nice change.
Trevecca Nazarene University - Okay so this is still Nashville but a major change for me. I moved out of my parents home and into college dorms. College dorms would probably qualify as the worst part of this time! :) The best part of this time was, once again, my church. I got heavily involved in the youth department at a Nazarene church and had some of the most meaningful times of my life!
Kansas City MO - So I moved to Kansas City to go to Seminary. The worst part of this was....almost everything! I hated it there!! Sorry but it is true. I did not like my classes at the school. I did not care for the city. I did get a job as a youth pastor. That was awesome except it was an hour away (each way), it was VERY part time and the church basically saw me as a babysitter rather than a minister. The best of this time would just be relationships I had at the time. My roommate was a girl from college but one that I had never been super close to. We got very close very fast and I consider her one of my best friends. We made great roommates. Another friend from college lived nearby and she and I became VERY close during this time and remain very close even now. Those friendships and the kids at my church that I fell in love with made a very short and otherwise miserable time in my life bearable!
Nashville TN - So...I came back to Nashville after only about 8 months in Kansas City. I lived in many different places since then culminating in the home I now own in Old Hickory TN. I love Nashville for so many reasons. The best thing about this place is probably the arts. I love how musical and artistic this city is! The worst thing is probably how southern and conservative it is. Sometimes being in the Bible Belt Buckle drives me crazy!! But I continue to stay here for so many reasons! My family is close. My nephew is here and I could not bear to be far from him. The friendships I have developed are so deep and meaningful I cannot image being without them. This is my home. I have no trouble imagining it might be where I stay from now on!
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