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?
I think I feel a lot of things. I feel pride to call Muncie my home. I feel excitement to be in a city that is comparably more exciting than the one I came from. I feel disappointment over how city officials treat community members at times. I feel sadness over the loss and heartbreaks I’ve had over the years.
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. I’ve lived in Muncie now for a little over five years. I came here from south Louisiana in an effort to make a life for myself, having learned about the city from a friend who’s originally from the area.
2. Are you happy with where you live? Do you feel like you belong? As of January 2019, I live at Bridges Community Services, in one of their tiny homes, and I honestly couldn’t be happier with the direction my life is going. I’ve met and reconnected with so many people since becoming affiliation with this organization.
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? I do see myself living here, though not in a tiny home, for the foreseeable future. I plan to start graduate school in a few months, and I plan on finishing, however long that may take. After that point, however, I don’t think I see myself here much longer.
4. How would you describe Muncie to someone who has never been here? What are its most distinctive characteristics? Muncie is….well, it’s something. The city’s characteristics really depend on which parts you go to.
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)? I’ve heard different opinions on Muncie from all sorts of people, and I think I agree with all of them, haha. It feels like the public image of Muncie isn’t the best, but I think Muncie has more sides than just the bad publicity it’s gotten over the years since I’ve lived here.
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? I have no idea what Muncie’s future holds, but I hope it’s ~SPICY~.