Audio Exercise Project

The speaker grew up in a small neighborhood outside of Philadelphia. It was a quiet and peaceful place with small houses packed closely together. They liked the tranquility but disliked the close-knit community where everyone knew each other. The speaker didn't have many memories of playing with other kids in the neighborhood and preferred watching cartoons and listening to music. They would take someone to Green Acres, a park with a playground and nature trails, as a place to visit. Growing up in the middle-class town gave the speaker an appreciation for working people and reinforced their preference for a quiet life. They are unsure if they would want to live there as an adult, but they like the environment and could see themselves in a similar place. I wanted to be a great guy, now I wanna eat up with the crowd I wanna be a great guy, now I wanna eat up with the crowd I'm a senior and an RTF major. And how do you spell your name? G-R-A-C-E-R-E-E-D Where did you grow up and where is it located? I grew up in Runnymede, so I'd say that's about 15-20 minutes outside of Philadelphia. And tell me about your hometown. It's a very small neighborhood. I say that most people have probably driven through it, but few people know what it is. Just like your standard small American community. Tons of small houses packed really close together. Really quiet. Can you describe the houses in your neighborhood, the streets and the surrounding area? My neighborhood is cut in half by the Black Horse Pike. There are tons of schools and little parks around me. A lot of the homes are starter homes, so you have two bedroom houses, one floor, not very extravagant. What did you like best about growing up in your town? I think that it was quiet and that it was peaceful. Not a lot of stuff happened. And I'm pretty laid back, so I like it that way. I get along with my neighbors. I kind of like basic, pleasant. What did you least like about growing up in your town? Probably that everything was so packed together and everyone knew each other at the same time. Because I didn't like going to school very much. So outside of school, I would still run into everyone I went to school with. And when you're a kid, that's not the best feeling. People ask you questions you don't want to answer. Do you have a particular memory or story about growing up in your hometown? Honestly, no. I didn't really, this is going to sound sad, I didn't really play with the kids in my neighborhood. So I wasn't really involved. I didn't like going to school. So I was just vibing, watching cartoons and listening to music. If you were going to take me to one place in your town, where would we go and what would we do? I think it's in my town. I would probably say go to Green Acres. It's a park that's right around the corner from where I went to middle school. It's this park. It's got a really nice playground, which I always used to hang out at when I was a kid. I always used to swing those swings. They've got nature trails and tennis courts. There's always something to do there. I still like going. How do you think your hometown helped shape your perspectives or who you are today? I don't know. I mean, it was definitely middle class. So it gave me an admiration for working people. And it sort of reinforced my personality and just what I love about the quiet, normal life. Even though I'm near Philly or even though I grew up in a quiet place, I would never want to live in a city. I like the quiet atmosphere. Do you think you would like to live there in the future as an adult? Why or why not? I don't know if I would. Maybe if different people were there, like all the kids I didn't get along with in school. But I definitely like the environment. I could see myself living there in a place like it.