After spending a semester trying to find my sense of place in Salem, I think sense of place has many different definitions because so many aspects play a part. It is the feeling you get in your environment from the connections you get from the people around you, how you connect with your surroundings, and how you think you play a part in your community. Overall, it is how you perceive a place. In the article "Sense of Place" by Adams, Greenwood, Tomashow, and Russ, I like how they mention sense of place includes place attachment and place meaning. (Kudryavtsev, Stedman, and Krasny, 2012) Going to the farmers market made me look at Salem from a completely different perspective. The vibe and bond I felt with everyone there was something that made me feel like I belonged.

I have a neutral sense of place at Salem State University. Again, the people I meet make everything more enjoyable and have given me positive feelings towards being in Salem, but I can not picture spending the next three and a half years of my life here. For example, for my school wide event I choose to go to a basketball game. The sports life is not what I imagined, and the only thing that really made it worth while is the select people in the audience that do come out. I feel there are so many students that come here that I don't know, or might not ever meet. I feel as though I belong here, but this was just a nice place to start my new found freedom.
In September, I had hope for finding my place in a new town so far away from home. Now I know a little more about who I am and what I am looking for in a college and environment, so in four years I think I will be in a spot where I'm satisfied and trying to accomplish everything I have planned in life.