Tyriq Fitts

1102-016
Agosta
8/28/14
Analytic Journal 1 Mayes: Why Do Old Places Matter?
Each of us can probably think
of a place, like Ciceros
childhood home, that seems
to embody our identity, but
how do old places tell us
who we are?
People seem to recognize
intuitively the way older
places symbolize meaning,
significance, and memories.
Our place identity is not
static, however. It is dynamic.
It changes over time.
When the places that are
part of our identity are
threatened, lost or destroyed,
our identity may be
damaged.

Before reading this article, I

considered my identity being
described as how I convey
myself to others. I also
considered it the impactful
things I have done in my life of
significant value. Can where Im
from really embody who I am? I
do see where Tom Mayes is
coming from as the things that
come before us set the
framework of how we live our
lives. It is imperative to
understand our history in order
to better future events and older
places and historic venues allow
us to do so. I do agree that place
identity does change over time,
even if we stay in the same place
our entire lives. The community
of that certain place changes
along with the rest of society.
However, I do not completely
agree with our identity being
damaged when places we
consider a part of it are
destroyed. Of course, those will
always sentimental value to us,
but we have still gained
experience and intelligence from
having these places in our lives
and as a part of our identities in
the first place.

I strongly agree with your

opinion, I myself believe that
where I am from has shaped me
as a person along with my
family, friends, and other factors
in my environment. As the
settings in your life change, you
grow. From your mom holding
your hand going across the road
to living on your own in college.
Just because one of these
places are damaged beyond
compare does not mean that
same damage was inflicted on
you as a person. Even if it does
make you upset if a place held
meaningful value to you that
means you already learned your
lesson or received a happy
memory from it. If a building is
older it can hold extreme
significance, we should value
and uphold these small parts of
history, take care of the things
that surround us and have
shaped our past.