Geographic influence

I was born in Southwest Atlanta and stayed there till I was in about 5th grade.  I grew up in what is considered to be a low income neighborhood with negative social influence. One thing my parents told my brother and I was to never become a negative product of my environment. My parents never wanted us to be influenced by the negative aspects of our neighborhood. So we were taught that we had to perform at higher standard and behave properly because we had something to prove.

When I was in the 5th grade we moved to Paulding County which is a more rural area near the University of West Georgia and the Alabama state line.  This was a big culture change for me because it was the first time I was placed in a diverse area. It was an adjustment but a positive change in values. I think the city teaches different values than a rural area. When living in the country my values began to change and became more family orientated and I also developed deep lasting friendships with my peers. I was glad I moved to the rural area because it humbled me and allowed me thrive in a myriad of ways.

Dr. Charles Heatwole writes about cultural ecology and cultural interactions. Cultural interaction focuses on the relationships that often exist between cultural components that characterize a given community.(Heatwole 2006). Heatwole discusses how cultural traits can be found in the landscape of a region. When I moved to Paulding County I thought that everything including the people moved slow compared to the city. I had to adapt to a whole new culture with in and a different landscape. It was a relief, for the first time I could play outside in my own yard and ride a bike through my neighborhood. I never noticed how much your landscape can influence you till I had to leave Paulding County. It is odd to see the changes I go through traveling from Atlanta to Paulding County.