Pompey Life
Whenever I meet a new peson and I'm introducing myself, I always answer the question "Where are you from" with some reference to Portsmouth. I grew up here. I was born in St Mary's hospital, have lived here all my life (except for the couple years in Brunei, right up until uni) and I still refer to it as home, even if that is out of habit more than anything!!
When I was a teenager, I developed a disdain for Portsmouth that grew to the point that I couldn't wait to leave. I seriously could not think of anything worse than becoming trapped into a life centred around this city, which I saw as one of the most depressing places in the world (clearly I had not yet been to Dungeness...). I'll admit there was probably a good portion of teenage melodrama shaping that particular worldview, but nonetheless, I was looking for my first ticket out of here...
Thankfully that really wasn't too much of a problem, as my priviledge and wonderful parents practically entitled me to go to university. And my academic success meant I could go pretty much anywhere. Naturally I didn't even consider Portsmouth Uni, and ended up in Egham, of all places, at Royal Holloway. But that's another story (or maybe even an epic serialisation...?). As I grew older and had more opportunity to travel and visit, even to live, in other places around the world I found my distaste for "home" melting and gradually being replaced with, dare I say it, a fondness?!! Maturity has brought with it an understanding of the value of where you came from in shaping where you are going next.
Imagine my surprisethen, when I realise that after 25 years of believing that I came from Portsmouth, and even more than that, understanding what it means to come from Portsmouth, I actually have had very little to do with the city. I lived over the hill in Waterlooville or Cowplain, as did most of my friends... I went to school in Havant and then Chichester, and I always seemed to work nearer Southampton. In reality, the only time I went down into the city while I was growing up was to go shopping or to the cinema, or going to church with my parents in the dockyard. On such occasions, we would be in and out as quickly as possible!!
The past few months have been somewhat of an education in "Portsmouth". Working in a retail environment in the heart of the city, travelling in and out every day on the bus... it has opened my eyes to what Portsmouth is really like. I have made friends, people that I care about, that have lived less than half an hour away from me my whole life but have this completely different experience. And I am now convinced that the best way to get to know the character of the area you live in is to work on a shop floor!!
The funny thing is, to be brutally honest I haven't been that surprised at what I have seen... it's just the first time I have actually experienced it myself, rather than assuming. BUT what has knocked me for six is the way I feel about it. From hating to indifference to a degree of fondness, my journey is now moving on to a level of compassion and love that I would NEVER have expected. The way I see my city has changed, and the people who live there have become part of my life. For the first time I have become involved, and I care about it in a way that moves me. So now leaving will be that bit harder...
When I was a teenager, I developed a disdain for Portsmouth that grew to the point that I couldn't wait to leave. I seriously could not think of anything worse than becoming trapped into a life centred around this city, which I saw as one of the most depressing places in the world (clearly I had not yet been to Dungeness...). I'll admit there was probably a good portion of teenage melodrama shaping that particular worldview, but nonetheless, I was looking for my first ticket out of here...
Thankfully that really wasn't too much of a problem, as my priviledge and wonderful parents practically entitled me to go to university. And my academic success meant I could go pretty much anywhere. Naturally I didn't even consider Portsmouth Uni, and ended up in Egham, of all places, at Royal Holloway. But that's another story (or maybe even an epic serialisation...?). As I grew older and had more opportunity to travel and visit, even to live, in other places around the world I found my distaste for "home" melting and gradually being replaced with, dare I say it, a fondness?!! Maturity has brought with it an understanding of the value of where you came from in shaping where you are going next.
Imagine my surprisethen, when I realise that after 25 years of believing that I came from Portsmouth, and even more than that, understanding what it means to come from Portsmouth, I actually have had very little to do with the city. I lived over the hill in Waterlooville or Cowplain, as did most of my friends... I went to school in Havant and then Chichester, and I always seemed to work nearer Southampton. In reality, the only time I went down into the city while I was growing up was to go shopping or to the cinema, or going to church with my parents in the dockyard. On such occasions, we would be in and out as quickly as possible!!
The past few months have been somewhat of an education in "Portsmouth". Working in a retail environment in the heart of the city, travelling in and out every day on the bus... it has opened my eyes to what Portsmouth is really like. I have made friends, people that I care about, that have lived less than half an hour away from me my whole life but have this completely different experience. And I am now convinced that the best way to get to know the character of the area you live in is to work on a shop floor!!
The funny thing is, to be brutally honest I haven't been that surprised at what I have seen... it's just the first time I have actually experienced it myself, rather than assuming. BUT what has knocked me for six is the way I feel about it. From hating to indifference to a degree of fondness, my journey is now moving on to a level of compassion and love that I would NEVER have expected. The way I see my city has changed, and the people who live there have become part of my life. For the first time I have become involved, and I care about it in a way that moves me. So now leaving will be that bit harder...
posted by Susie at
4:39 AM
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