“America” means something a little different to each of us. We all may have different reactions to the name. To some, it may not mean much at all. Truthfully, I used to be one that had very little emotion or attachments to this place so many of us call home. Perhaps it was because I was young, perhaps it had more to do with the influence of a hodgepodge of cultures I had the good fortune of growing up with.
I still remember the day my parents told me we were moving to Montana. We were living in New York at the time, I was 12, just about to finish 8th grade and we were in the parking lot of our local “Burlington Coat Factory”. Mom turned off the car and asked, “Sarah, how would you feel about living in Montana?” You could say I wasn’t thrilled. The hysteria that ensued may have been a tad over-dramatic.
Four years of high school passed, and we moved across the country to the great American West. Well, I didn’t believe it was so great at the time. To me, Montana symbolized boring summers spent with grandparents and time taken away from friends and family I knew well. Time that could have been spent being other places, and doing other things.
Leaving the Empire State, I swore I wouldn’t date any of those crazy country cowboys. Five years later, I married a self-proclaimed “non” - but the closest to “cowboy” I’ve ever met. Through him and the rest of my friends out west, I now appreciate this land that I have come to know and understand as the true heart of America. This project represents what living in Montana has come to mean to me, and the true American spirit I have gained from being in a place so truly rich with growth and culture. Here America feels genuine in its entirety. Stars and Stripes certainly, but beyond that, a country lifestyle and a way of living that could only be seen as our own; a tradition and heritage to be proud of.
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