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Then, at the age of ten, we moved ten hours south to Scituate, Rhode Island. This was our largest moved. Scituate is a rural suburb of Providence, Rhode Island, and it was adjacent to my Father’s childhood neighborhood. In my mind, this was the last of our moves; everything seemed to be final and set. That was not the case. At age twelve, my
family moved to Crestwood, Kentucky, an even more residential suburb of Louisville. I was initially reluctant to love Kentucky. At twelve, I had a warped image of what the state was, and what it could offer me. Over the past eight years, however, I have
developed a unique appreciation and fondness for Kentucky and my home county.
Louisville is where I finished my middle school education, all my high schooling, and where I elected to attend university some three years ago. Never while living in the city did I intend to develop a love for it. I am not a Kentuckian, or so I thought. I had never identified with the bluegrass culture of the state. The derby, the bourbon, the fierce political landscape, and the deep pride many in the state feel towards their home is something I’ve always respected, yet never wanted for myself. I say this not in a pretentious or pejorative way; rather, Kentucky was always a temporary, fleeting place of residence, and nothing more.
This was called into question as I started looking seriously at graduate schools. I had always envisioned myself attending a historic, coastal institution, but that was primarily fantasy. When looking at a graduate school in New England, one must consider the fact that they will be moving over ten hours away from their family, friends, and all familiarity. For some, this is a welcome adventure; however, for others, this poses a substantive moral quandary (hence the authorship of this piece). For some reason unbeknownst to me, leaving my family and the city that I have grown to appreciate feels inherently traitorous. I have attempted to reconcile whether I feel a stronger allegiance to my home, family, and community, or myself and all that I could potentially accomplish if I were to brave the unknown of a new region. All of these ideas and thoughts have been compounding in my head to create what has been a tough lesson in grit and identity. Ultimately, everyone will eventually have to come to the decision whether they choose to stay or leave. This is a decision as old as time, and one that many my age will soon have to realize.
Choosing between oneself and one’s home is never easy; however, I can be very grateful for the many people, faces, and places in Kentucky that will ultimately end up making this decision all the more difficult.
Caleb Aridano is a McConnell Scholar in the class of 2024. He is studying philosophy, political science, public health, ethics, and LGBTQ health studies.