The boundaries of home are fluid; they transcend houses, towns, lifetimes, and life stages. Yet, there are the intangible portions of home that are packed from place to place through every stage.

When is tradition a crutch? When is history a medicine; a tether?

Baggage is packed through the divides and overlap of fact and narrative within rural American life. In drawing from my personal and family histories contradictions of wanting to remain rooted to family and wishing to expand beyond the environment of one’s upbringing. In exploring my own psyche in relation to my family’s history, this piece communicates a common anxiety, struggle, and reluctance in relation to transcending social classes without severing ties to family, history, or origin.