Final Sense of Place

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.

From my perspective, right now I see Salem as a quiet place to think about how I want to start my life. I love the sense of community I feel here and the people I connect with every day. The Halloween parade is one of the view Halloween attractions that is much less of a tourist attraction. Most of the people there were locals and I saw so many students form Salem State. Everyone looked so happy to be there. They were pleasant but into the spirit and enjoying the parade. Reading about Salem's history in our past assignments also gave me a better understanding of the culture and diversity that still lives here today. From our first National Park Service assignment where we had to research one of the topics given, I researched the Polish immigrants that travelled here. They created a new society and many of them stayed on Derby street in tight knit communities. After learning more from the NPS worker and seeing a variety of different sites in Salem, I could picture how times were and how it formed the community and environment Salem is surrounded by today. The people I've met is definitely one of the biggest factors in my sense of place here. Meeting different people who have common interests as you and want to have a good time and explore new things with you makes the place you are in that much more special.

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.