All About Billie
One day in a 10th grade English class on Long Island, NY, Mr. Gibbons said something that I was to remember for at least another 15 years. He said that they tested products in Ohio for sale because it was so obscure. Companies would not lose a profit because no one credible lives there. He said, “Who actually lives in Ohio?” Then half of the class turns around and stares at me. Someone raises their hand, points to me, and says, “She used to live in Ohio.”
I was that kid, the kid who sat in the back of the classroom and never said a word. That kid who never fit in. Do you remember one of those kids? Everyone knew of me, but very few people actually knew me. We were a non-military family that moved around as if we were part of the army. I must have been asked that question at least 100 times from moves to Long Island, Tampa, Columbus, Fort Lauderdale, and Los Angeles. All of the moving around meant loss of friends, new experiences, and plenty of new starts. It also left me feeling like I never belonged because I kept changing myself during those new starts. For example, in Ohio they made fun of my New York accent, so I changed it. Then we moved back to New York. They made fun of my changed accent, so I changed it back again to the original. Then I decided to give up speaking in general because I just did not fit in.
On my own I lived near Rochester, NY for college and then moved to Richmond, VA. I stayed in Richmond for a job in archaeology and then fell in love so I’m here for good. All of that moving around left me trying to find a place where I belonged. Now I belong in Richmond, married to a police officer from the Blue Ridge Mountains and teaching middle school History.
The most important thing I have realized in all of my travels, is that good people are still friendly when you speak first with gentility and confidence, no matter the accent. However, sometimes they will eat weird food.
-Billie
-Billie
