The Geography of Personality

On the pleasures of a familiar place

Does your personality vary by geography?

If you go to your childhood home, does another part of you emerge?

Are there places where a calmer self, a better self, comes out?

I’m writing you from one of mine.

This is the deck in the wood where I like to sit.

It’s one of the best features of a house that belongs to my family. We’ve been coming here, to Northeastern Pennsylvania, for more than 30 years.

Before its sale, I came as a boy for a tour on behalf of my grandparents. I remember walking down the driveway one January when I was five. The house was dark and cold. Nervousness and a vague desire to impress the agent made me comment that a piece of furniture in the corner was an “armoire.” This puzzled him.

Today, it is home both to dear memories, and moreso (as memories blur with age) to a state of being.

Here is where I did my deepest reading.

In my early teens, I spent one transformative summer reading books my father gave me: Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha and Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcyle Maintenance.

I still recall the sensation of a stunning inner reality being peeled back and shown to me while reading each book.

While my body was in a dusty loft over the garage, my mind had stretched so far I felt forever enlarged by it.

At least, that is, when I’m here.

The geography of personality also has its negative side.

There are certain rooms in houses that may make you feel petulant and childish.

There are great cities that may make you feel instantly small. (I know some people are energized by New York. I feel crushed by it.)

There may be beautiful vistas that alienate you rather than embrace you.

As I get older, I try to resist letting the patterns and preferences of others dictate where I go.

So much of travel is spent trying to find a better version of yourself.

If you made a map of the world that reflected your feelings, it would look quite different from the “Best Places” list by Condé Nast traveler.

What I’m Working On

I’ve been on hiatus with the newsletter while I finished two courses for a cohort I’m helping to teach.

The first is on how to source and cut video clips for Twitter.

The second is on how to get your ideas featured in media.

I’ll be releasing both of them in the coming weeks. If these subjects interest you, please stay tuned.

Hope you’re having a wonderful summer wherever you are.

I’d love to hear what places bring out your best self if you’d like to hit “reply.”

Until the next time,

Ben