Stories Collected by the
Main Street Middle School Health Class
Students interviewed someone in the local community who has influenced them positively. They asked them about the influences in their lives that have contributed to a sense of belonging.
Students interviewed caregivers, teachers, coaches, older siblings, and family friends, and chose a quote from the interview that they felt captured the essence of their interviewee's story.
Renata Wheeler
When you start to believe in yourself, and trust in whatever process you're going through, and embrace who you are, is when you start to feel like you belong because the other people around you will feel that energy, and feel that confidence, and that connection.
And it's not an easy task. It’s not easy to just fit in and belong. And it's okay. But even if you don't fit in right now, or feel like you don't belong now, highschool and school is just a small part of your life.
And you’ll grow out of whatever this is and you’ll find your place where you belong. And sometimes that seems like it’s years and years down the road, but it comes quicker than you think. And there's always a place for people to belong. And it may not be school related, and that's okay.
Max Weinstein
[On] the high school soccer field, I felt very calm. I used to go there every day. Now I sometimes go – not to train or work out, go and walk around maybe with one of my friends to just kick the ball around, and it really grounds me...that this is my home – it’s not going anywhere, Montpelier is not going anywhere...all the memories that I have of going there every day.
Alyssa Schuren
Currently I help appointed and elected officials run their offices in a way that reflects their values.
Part of the way I support them in advancing their values internally within their teams is to make sure that people feel heard. When I started looking at jobs in Vermont I convinced the place I was working at the time to open a Vermont office.
Now I definitely feel like I belong here... I’ve seen the community go through a lot. We’ve really pulled together over some pretty significant events.
Events like the July third parade and events that they have on the state house lawn can make me feel a sense of belonging.
Ben Matchstick
And there was a time in Glover when I just met, and interacted with, hundreds of people a day. Puppeteers moving in and out, people from all over the world arriving and leaving. And, you know, I still see people to this day that I’ve met and encountered through Bread and Puppet. So I guess that that network was pretty big.
The cafe also was a great way to get to know people. I guess I feel like my sense of belonging has always been to host other people. The cafe was a place where we brought a lot of artists and audience members into the space, and I felt very comfortable being the host. We got onto this idea of radical hospitality, being overly welcome to everybody.
By creating a space and welcoming people, that’s a way to initiate the process, rather than waiting for somebody to welcome me. That’s a big part, I think, of feeling like you belong. Somebody’s got to welcome you, so it might as well be me.”
Eli Rosenberg
I moved to Montpelier in 1999. I thought about moving to a lot of different places, but when I saw Montpelier I thought I could live here. I like Montpelier because it has a nice park, a great bike path, grocery stores and restaurants, and a great book store.
Ally Tarwater
I feel like since we moved to Vermont, it's just been more my home than either of my other homes, and I felt like this is where I want to stay forever, it's great.
Erin Meenan
Hubbard Park is my favorite place because we like to go for walks with our dog, and it’s a place that’s so close. It’s nice to have that in the city– to be able to connect with nature, see others, see other dogs and enjoy being outside.
Nick Sherman
I picked my job because it was a good path to follow and a stable career to support my family.There's long hours in the winter and it takes time away from family. My favorite part is that I get to interact with people all over the state and the country.
Hannah Barden - Part 1
How have your friends impacted you positively in your life?
So many ways, I have friends that I play with, we play soccer, we ride bikes, we run and hike, and that makes me really happy. And when we do that, we talk about everything. We talk about the world, we talk about our feelings, we talk about things that are great in our lives, and we talk about things that are hard. We talk about something we've read or that we've heard on the radio.
So, I think I am always sort of adjusting how I feel about the world by having conversations and being with my friends.
Hannah Barden - Part 2
I have always felt connected to my family. Sometimes I felt like they were a little cooler than I was. They like to do sort of extreme sports and sometimes I felt like I couldn't keep up with them but they've always sort of helped me out–they’ve been one of my biggest sources of support.
If I am sad I call people in my family to talk to me. If I have a problem they’re always there to help me, so I feel like they are some of the people I’m most connected to.
Jenna Bravakis
I loved growing up in a small town and was sort of nostalgic for that even before I left… I think a lot of people like being anonymous and I don't. I like going to the grocery store and running into like three people that I know… I always knew I wanted to move back to Vermont or I thought maybe Maine.
I knew I wanted to live in a small town and it was just circumstance that I ended up back in the district I was educated in. But then also, like, sort of the ultimate home going. So I have a lot of positive memories going through.”
Misse Axelrod
What is the funniest thing that has happened at work?
It was probably when one of our teachers dropped their phone in the out house.
What is one of your favorite holidays and why?
It’s probably Christmas week, not just Christmas day, because work slows down, and it’s winter time which is one of my favorite seasons. There's usually a lot of snow and we just spend a lot of quality time together, so I just appreciate this holiday.
I played lacrosse for two years. It was fun to be on a team, but I realized that team sports weren't for me. But I did participate in all of the sort of quintessential Vermont sports growing up and continuing into you know the present, like mountain biking, skiing, hiking and it influenced me a lot, just with being connected to nature and like community and friends.
Adam Sargent
I remember liking middle school. I had a seventh grade teacher who was really good. She gave us current event projects. That was when I really started to get into social studies. In high school I realized I wanted to be a social studies teacher and in college I majored in American studies....I really appreciated learning in college about the world and becoming trained in something.
Share Your Story
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Instagram
Share a photo and your story of belonging on your Instagram.
Stories of belonging can be a few words, a few sentences, or as long as you like.
ADD THIS TAG to your post: @montpelierbridgestobelonging
Your post will then be added to the project's Instagram.
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Story Form
For stories of any length.
Photo optional.
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Events
Join teaching artists Amber Paris and Evie Lovett at creative events around Montpelier in SEP-NOV to help us collect your stories of belonging and create a community asset map that shows the RELATIONSHIPS, PLACES, SUPPORT, and ENGAGEMENT in Montpelier that foster a sense of belonging.