Home Sweet Home

"Home Sweet Home"

There are hundreds of people, young and old that live in my apartment complex and each of them have a different and unique story to share. My story is that I come from the typical middle-of -nowhere suburbia, where the grass is always green, and all of the houses look the same. In that community it is easy to become too comfortable, and forget that things aren't so "perfect" in the rest of the world. When my step-dad past away, we sold the house and moved into town changing the way I lived my life. The city feels like a different community and it seems to have a different atmosphere than the one where I came from. While writing this paper, it is my objective to become comfortable with my surroundings, and accept this community as mine. The typical stereotype for apartment complexes is the children are constantly running around causing trouble and the walls are so paper thin that everyone knows every aspect your life. Here at Village at Van Mall, that couldn't be any further from the truth. The children are confined to one area and the only time you hear from your neighbors is if you happen to run into them on your way out. The quiet community is tucked away in a hollowed out forest just off of Van Mall Drive. The towering evergreen trees provide a pleasing shade and from time to time a () rejuvenating breeze sweeps through the complex. The individual apartments are stacked two high and two across, thus creating a small sense of privacy and a satisfying feeling of comfort. The apartments are painted beige and white, and the architecture indicates a hint of elegance. Everyone moved to these apartments for many reasons. We all have are different reasons for living in these apartments. Some of us live here with our families, while others live alone or with a buddy. One neighbor of mine is here temporarily while his house is being built, whereas another girl lives here as she awaits her husband's homecoming from Iraq-whenever that may be. A close friend of mine has lived here for a long time, just recently broke up with his girlfriend, and now lives with a friend. Another family lives here because they are unable to afford a house, and they chose this place as a good place to raise their children. In the club house, we have a common room where people regularly get together to watch television, play video games, exercise, and even go swimming. I believe that this common room was created to bring the apartment tenants together, and it does a good job of doing such. Everyone here gets along; it is like its own perfect community. If you look at it; this community and the typical suburbia community are a lot alike. The buildings are different, and the green grass is exchanged for hard black asphalt, but there are still the same kinds of people that you would find in a suburban community. They're still happy to see you, and they are willing to work together to create an "ideal community". ()

I've lived here for 5 months, and have not yet adjusted to my new home. I have thought all along that everything was different here than my typical middle-of-nowhere community, and that I would hate it here forever. I have come to realize that I was just looking at the physical attributes of the apartment complex. I never really looked at what really mattered most, the people that make this community happen. I've come to accept this community as what it truly is…my home.

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