Am I A Local Now?

As I pitched this title idea to my mom, she immediately answered with “no,” but still…

For the past six years (and my father isn’t even retired yet), I’ve lived at Fort Leavenworth. After only a year and a half, my family moved into a quiet farmhouse just inside the city limits of Leavenworth. Many of my activities still revolved around post, but I spent most of my time in the community. 

I’ve participated in service events in the community, spent numerous times at the local coffee shops and riverwalk, gone into many of the shops in the local downtown area, and even wrote an article about the best businesses/restaurants/locations in Leavenworth. When I run errands, work, or go for a run, I almost always recognize someone. When I visit other countries, I say I’m from the Kansas City area. And compared to the other places I’ve lived, Leavenworth is definitely predominant in my memory. 

Yet, from my mother’s answer, I suppose I still am not a local. But then, what exactly is a local? Is that title determined by time or experience? Would my Kansas Driver’s License make it look like I’m a local while my military ID says otherwise? With my military childhood, will I ever be able to fully proclaim myself as a local? Do I even want to be a local?

Admittedly, I don’t have much more to write about on this topic... This is just a subject I’ve ruminated on for quite some time, and I’ve now chosen to put my thoughts and questions into words. Perhaps you’re also at this interim moment, when you don’t feel like a fully-fledged milteen or a local. And, I think that’s okay. Being in the in-between is still a place, and while I might not have the answers right now, I’ll have them later. 

Soon, I’ll be a college student with a home in Leavenworth. This in-between is actually helping to create a smooth transition into the non-nomadic life of college. And after that, I don’t know what I’ll be. But right now, I’m a military teen who’s found Leavenworth to be my home and the community here to be my community.