Everyday Life in Middletown
Directive: January-February 2019
Muncie
Directions: This directive asks you to share your thoughts and feelings about Muncie, the town most of you live in and the town at the center of the Everyday Life in Middletown project.
Feel free to use your creativity in expressing your thoughts and feelings about Muncie. You can write this out as an essay or a set of disjointed observations, or any other way you like. You do not need to answer the questions below in order (though you may do so if you wish). But do try to address all of the questions, in one way or another, in your response.
The main question we want you to address is: What do you think and feel about Muncie?
Write as little or as much as you like. A good guideline for length would be the average length of your day diaries for us.
As with your diaries, your directive entries will be published anonymously in our on-line archive. While we will not publish your name or any personal information, it is up to you to decide how much or how little about yourself you want to reveal in your writing and to filter out personal information accordingly. As with the diaries, we will review your directives for personal information and contact you if we have questions or concerns.
Optional: Take a photograph that you think typifies Muncie in some way, and send it along with your directive response.
Please return your answer to us by Feb. 12.
Questions to address in your answer:
1. How long have you lived here? If you were not born here, indicate where you came from and why.
2.Are you happy with where you live? Do you feel like you belong?
3. Do you expect to stay here for long? What are or will be some of the considerations in deciding how long you stay here?
4. How would you describe Muncie to someone who has never been here? What are its most distinctive characteristics?
5. Do you think the ways other people think about Muncie are the same ways you think about it? How do you your thoughts and feelings about Muncie differ from its public image (from media or word-of-mouth around the state and beyond)?
6. What are your feelings about Muncie’s future? What are your hopes for Muncie? How do you expect Muncie will fare in the years ahead? What changes do you expect?