After reading The Anthropocene Review by John Green, I wrote this piece in response to a prompt posted on its fan website. The website had you tag where you received your copy of The Anthropocene Review and posted a review as John does throughout the book. This is my review of where I grew up in Texas.
My Review:
I grew up here, well, not really. I grew up in Magnolia but tell people I really grew up in The Woodlands. Now I live in Conroe. I’ve spent the last 22 years living within 30 minutes of each town I have called home. I never left until college, and now I’m back again.
I wouldn’t say I liked it here. The people are rich and indifferent. Many need help and don’t get it. Yet the trees turn brown, red, and orange in November. We don’t usually receive cold weather. Flowers fill the spring, and Summer is hell. There is beauty all around me, yet, still, I’m not too fond of it here. Texas has never been home, but I’m doing a review for people who want to see the natural beauty of where I grew up.
The Woodlands is beautiful and carefully created. Not a “true” city but a township. It’s a collection of neighborhoods filled with trees wrapped in lights all year long and more golf courses than one could ever need. It truly is beautiful—the waterway filled with boat swans, as well as the real ones. Ducks frequent the lake and ponds.
People come here seeking wealth, while some come seeking healing. Some of the best hospitals, along with Exon and other oil companies, are here. It’s full of those seeking something, but they’ll never tell you what because problems do not exist here until they do. Your community will surround you and fail you. Those you love best will slip through your fingers, but hey, we’ve got great food here!
Tex-Mex, Italian, Mediterranean, Indian, and Seafood! Whatever you crave, we’ve got it here. Taste the cuisine while you sit and watch a group of runners help each other cross the finish line. Or see the dragon appearing at Eastern Shore. The giant bronze man lying down while reading a book. The red circle sphere thing with its many parts. Buildings that disappear when the clouds are low. It is a great place to see and visit. I frequently interact with visitors that have never seen this place, and they talk about the “uniqueness” of it, and how they “love it here.” “Everything one could ever need all within 20 minutes from each other.” I then explain to them that’s why we call it the bubble.
I personally, though, fear the bubble. I want to see more than the affluent people who ignore those who struggle right under their noses. I want to leave and experience what other places have to offer. I don’t want to be another person who could not give up the comfort the bubble provided them. Most grow up here, go to college, then return to start their family. I don’t want to be another person who could not give up this comfort. I don’t want to be another person ashamed of where they come from because it was not the classy, high-in, affluent community I have longed to be a part of.
I give this place three and a half stars.
Reality:
I am not one who could give up the bubble. I wrote this piece back in May 2021. It’s now May 2023. During those two years, I lived in The Woodlands, moved to Mobile, Alabama, and am now back in Texas. While yes, I missed the bubble for what it offered. Opportunity, luxury, amenities, and everything under the sun. I moved back for a job and mainly to be back near family. Having the opportunity to grow in my career while growing closer to my family was something I could not pass up. I desperately miss the family I created over in Alabama. But, home was calling. Cheers to living in comfort, or at least, pretending to.