So, here’s the thing, I haven’t always had this love affair with Detroit. And I haven’t always said the right thing.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been proud and grateful to have been born and bred here. I’ve also always been a Detroit sports fan.
I just haven’t always been a supporter of Detroit; this beautiful city wasn’t always where I wanted to be. I’ve said some hurtful things in the past and I’m sorry.
When I left for college and arrived in Milwaukee people would ask me where I was from. My answer was that I was from the “suburbs of Detroit,” or sometimes I’d say “outside of Detroit.”
Yes, I said what I said because I didn’t want people to think I was from that Detroit. You see, I was from the suburbs and they were filled with kittens and rainbows and unicorns. I was 17.
I’m sorry.
I did the same when I lived in Chicago. Actually, I was worse in Chicago. I lived life fast and fancy-free, loving the high life and working in professional theater. My life revolved around my profession and I had a huge supportive community.
I became friends with other former Detroiters that also happened to be working in the theater. Keep in mind that I was in my mid to late 20’s. My friends and I had the audacity to think, and actually say out loud, that if we moved back to Detroit it would be a cool place to live.
Yes, we were that full of ourselves. We were cocky, creative, and living in our own little world.
Will you forgive me?
Was I any better when I moved to the UK? Not so much. My husband would tell people I was from Detroit and I would elbow him in the ribs and correct him, “I’m from the suburbs.”
Detroit, I did you wrong and I hang my head in shame.
As an advocate of Detroit who is passionate about the city, I see the errors of my past self and I’m embarrassed. We are all Detroiters. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the city and suburbs cannot exist without each other.
We bitch and moan that the national and international media portray us so horribly but we are part of the problem. Until city dwellers and suburbanites can embrace each other, and the region, we’re just going to keep banging our head against a wall.
I am a Detroiter. Are you?
How can we come together as a region and put these dividing lines behind us?