Your Hometown: Going back to your Hometown To Move Forward Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.
Your Hometown Going Back To Move Forward
Even if your hometown was a terrible fit try seeing it anew through adult eyes Go back to your hometown to move forward in life
William Randall/TexPhoto/Getty Images Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. In midlife, something unexpected has happened: most of my travels happen to take me back to Greensboro. More surprising still: I’ve come to accept that returning to my personal ground zero has helped me live a richer, fuller life. Going back to my hometown has helped me move forward. Struggles for Acceptance Big and Small
Greensboro has long been known chiefly for textiles, tobacco and furniture; many describe it as a pretty, leafy city and a good place to raise a family. Detractors call it a city without a center, character, or much to do. There’s even a Twitter account called “Greensboring.” Greensboro’s most defining national moment occurred in February 1960, when four African-American college students sat down at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter. They were denied service but refused to leave. By comparison, my life in Greensboro was much less dramatic, though I had my own struggles for acceptance. Growing up in the 1960s, I sensed I was different almost from the beginning. In my family, I was the only boy (with four sisters) and the youngest child. I had asthma, so unlike others my age, I swam instead of playing ball. I loved to draw and write, and I devoted entire afternoons to these pursuits. I grew up on a street with few kids my age; the middle-aged neighbors were my playmates Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > Though I’d moved away from Greensboro, I continued to return to visit my extended family. And yet, I didn’t feel I could be myself around them, even after I’d come out to some members; I still carried a deep sense of shame. A drive through town was sure to summon old ghosts. I was always relieved when it was time to go. Slowly, through maturity, circumstances, and yes, therapy, something unexpected happened. My disdain for Greensboro started to dissolve. My father died in 1993. I loved and admired him greatly and it was a painful loss. But it helped me come out more to my mother and family. By 2006, my mother had slipped into dementia. My sisters and I had to move her out of the two-story, red-brick home where I took refuge from the hostile world for so many years. AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe and has written for such publications as Travel + Leisure. His short plays have been produced in San Francisco and Sonoma County, Calif. AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS