i do not know anything about the history of indianapolis, but the whole time i was there, i kept comparing the city to where i grew up. in a lot of ways this picture sums up how i feel about home. i have always felt that if i moved back home, i would never be able to leave again. this picture illustrates that. here is a house on a way street with a stop sign.
you can go on the street, but in only one direction
and eventually, you are forced to stop. it illustrates to me the idea that a lot of people where i grew up never leave and are held captive by this one-way road. this isn't to say that they can never leave, but a lot of the time they choose not to.

wilcox street

my mother is the eldest of nine brothers and sisters. while some of them have left the area and done other things, all but one live there currently. i am not quite sure what keeps bringing everyone back, but even a lot of my friends who are done with college moved back to the area. there is something to be said about being in a familiar place and knowing everyone in your surroundings, but moving back is something i could never do.

    
michigan avenue

a lot of the people i encountered in indianapolis had lived there their whole lives. there were good accounts of the city and bad, but everyone seemed content. in my short time there i grew to love being there. sure, there were a lot of things i didn't like. the bus didn't run regularly or many other areas than downtown, the city seemed infiltrated with malls everywhere i looked and there wasn't really a grid system for me to figure out directions on.

first and foremost though, i loved the people. there was a friendly smile everywhere i went. no one was in a rush to get anywhere, and where else could i

get a rolling rock for $2.00 on any given day?

the other drawback of indianapolis, was its lack of jobs in the technology field [although, it could be said that that isn't a drawback]. a lot of the jobs seemed to be in factories and industrial warehouses. the company my partner was trying to help organize was a warehouse for a clothing catalog. his specific job was as a customer service representative. while initially the job didn't seem so bad, he was working 35 hours per week so that he could not obtain "full-time" status, and therefore couldn't get health benefits.
the first 90 days of work the company stipulated that he could not take a sick day, or change his schedule in any way. a lot of the employees were unhappy, but

with a new wave of trainees on a monthly basis, they were not concerned with turnaround, or the unhealthy environment they created for their employees.

 
indianapolis motor speedway

i enjoyed my time in indy, and definitely wish i could have stayed longer; but it is not a place i could ever call home.



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