week 2: big/small

I thought this piece would write itself. I thought I had sketched out enough ideas last week before I bumped this week's piece to its present place. I was wrong. I found it incredibly difficult to express in words what surrounds me all the time.

One of the reasons I applied for and ultimately took this job was the chance to work with people who were different than me. Meaning, people who were not from California, had not gone to college, and did not share my Bohemian ideals of truth, beauty, freedom, and love. (Bonus points if you can tell me what movie that's from. Oh, and that last bit is not entirely serious, but it's not entirely a joke either.)

Growing up in California, it was hard to fully understand what an unusual place it is until I left it. Sure, I knew it isn't normal or average, but I didn't fully grasp how different it is from so many other places until I lived somewhere else. On its good days, California is progressive. A place for ideas and discourse along with a vision of what the future can hold. On its bad days, it’s a little dysfunctional, which, unfortunately, is what outsiders tend to see.

And then there is Farmington, NM. It's a little different than California. Just a little. I swear. This job has given me a chance to meet people that I would never have met and learned from if I sat in a cubicle and more button down shirts to work. Though I am loathe to, I'm about to try and characterize an entire region in a few words. If I didn't, you would never understand how I've come to see this place. Keep in mind, this is more a comparison to the Bay Area than a straight characterization of Farmington itself. Things here are simple. Nuanced isn't a word people go for. The big picture isn't their problem so it isn't their concern. This world isn't very big either and not because globalization has shrunk it. It's not very big because it's not very big. People have their folksy wisdom and some people really do believe all those old wives' tales.

However, people have their folksy ignorance too. (This is not to say that there isn’t plenty of cosmopolitan ignorance to go around.) One of the things that I am having the hardest time understanding is the general dislike people seem to express towards doctors and medical professionals in general. Look, I'm sure you want to hear something from the doctor other than that you should quit smoking and that you should lose weight. But frankly, the doctor harps on those things because smoking and obesity are enormous risk factors for many serious medical problems. Plus, they're probably the root cause of all the problems you currently suffer from. There, I got my rant out. Seriously, compared to the Bay Area, smoking and obesity exist in Farmington at much higher rates.

I suspect that most of what I've noticed is a big(ger) town/small town issue. (Perhaps that's why the doctor thing exists.) These are issues that would come up in dozens of other similar places. Me personally, I like the fast-talking, slightly highbrow, and mildly arrogant elitism of big(ger) city life. Oh, what I really mean to say is I like the analytical, intellectual, and nuanced air of the Bay Area. But that's not my home anymore. Farmington isn't home either, it never will be. But it is where I live now. It's a place I have learned from both personally and professionally and I will continue to do so.