James Hickey

By John O Dyer http://www.flickr.com/photos/john_dyer_jr/4447996016/

             “Home is where the heart is”, a saying that most people are very familiar with, can be applied to adults that, as children, grew up in the same town for their entire life. They feel certain connections to this town and the people within it, as opposed to military kids, for instance, who never really resonate with one place. Many say that it is beneficial for a child to remain in one place while growing up, instead of being thrust about from place to place. Changing surroundings and breaking ties with friends can be extremely traumatic for children to experience, especially kids that go through the process several times. Fortunately for James Hickey, his parents moved to Raleigh, North Carolina two years before their eldest child was born. He was born and raised in Raleigh, and he continued to live with his family there until leaving to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this year. James was cultured and fostered by his Raleigh community in which he spent the duration of his early to teenage years, and his life serves as an example of the fact that children who never undergo an upsetting move tend to be less scarred from the experience and have less desire to move far from the place they call home.

            James Hickey was born at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina on July 21, 1992, one of the two hospitals in which most people from Raleigh are born. His mom and dad, from Norlina and Charlotte, respectively, had just moved to Raleigh two years before their eldest child was born. The question that faced them was common for most couples: where should they live and raise their family? The answer was simple for the Hickeys. Having both attended college in Raleigh, they could not think of a better place. See, in Raleigh, it is characteristic for a man from NC State University to fall in love and marry a woman from Meredith College. Meredith College, an all girls school, is practically a stone’s throw away from NC State, and who else would the girls go out with on the weekends if there were no boys right around the corner? James was sent to Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School for his elementary education due to the fact that his father had attended Catholic school and wanted the same for his children. James grew up in Raleigh and eventually attended Cardinal Gibbons for high school. He played football and became an NC State fan, just like his father. It was a hard choice for James when deciding where to attend college, but UNC had more to offer for a student who was largely undecided on his major.

            When James was nine years old, his family moved from one house to another, while remaining in Raleigh. Kids who may have moved five to ten times during their childhood might scoff at this and say that James was lucky. However, that doesn’t change the fact that James was saddened by the move because he “liked his neighborhood and his previous house”. If James felt this way about a move across town, imagine what kids who undergo a move on a much greater scale must go through emotionally. James Hickey’s reaction to his move makes it clear that children that go through large scale moves when they’re young are subjected to much distress and trauma. Most kids that are raised in one place tend to attend college near to or at least in the state in which their hometown is located. On the other hand, children that grew up one place and then moved somewhere else during their teen years are more likely to have a desire to return to their previous home. James really did have a pleasant upbringing compared to the lives of other children.

            James Hickey’s parents really did make the right decision in raising their children in one place. With less emotional stress, the child can grow and become familiar with their surroundings and community without any fear of change. In addition, children who have an attachment to where they grew up are much more likely to remain close to home when leaving for college or even choosing where to start their own families. James Hickey was lucky to grow up in a place like Raleigh, and it seems that he would say the same.