Nathaniel Johnson

Nathaniel Johnson tells us about the friendship that has begun to make him feel more like he belongs.

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Leah Velez: You're listening to Story Helix: intertwining stories past, present, and not yet imagined in Lane County, Oregon. What's up, earthlings? I'm Leah Velez, and I'll be your host. 

[00:00:24] The story we're about to hear was recorded by a young interviewer at a Eugene Alternative High School. They chose someone in their community to ask questions and sent in their recordings as part of a class project. Some of them are folks that worked in the school, some are community members, they know some are siblings and some are friends. 

[00:00:43] Let's open up our ear nuggets and give it a listen.

[00:00:55] Nathaniel Johnson: My mother's side of the family was already in Eugene, but my dad, he had always told me to listen to him and whatnot, and that if I didn't, then he said that I could always go stay with my mom and. He didn't say it was a punishment or anything, and I didn't feel like it was, until I decided to think it would be okay to pretty much just not listen to him at all whatsoever, and pretty much just do whatever I wanted, when I wanted, leave the house when I'm not supposed to, and whatnot.

[00:01:31] And so he sent me up here to live with my mom. 

[00:01:34] There's some good people up here and whatnot, but the grass is not always greener on the other side. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but that is one thing I've learned. My dad's taught me a lot of things, and I know most of what I know thanks to him. Now, I definitely know that lesson, most of all. 

[00:01:55] I don't have very many good memories up here. There is one person that's keeping well, a couple people that are keeping me sane and making it to where I'm willing to stay here for a little longer until I can convince one person to move back there with me. But that's gonna be a while. 

[00:02:12] Anyway, my best friend, Lily, she goes to Willamette High School, and we were in the same culinary class for about five and a half months, and she was the first person I interacted with when we started back up in person school. And I had taken off my mask to get a drink of water and out of nowhere I hear this tiny voice say, I like your face guy, and it was hilarious. And I laughed and put my mask back on and I turned around to see a four- three, small child- looking figure. And from then on, we were friends instantly. 

[00:02:51] And then the other person that's keeping me here would be my girlfriend right now. Those are probably the only two people keeping me in Oregon. I can actually be myself around both of them and not have to put on like a customer service act and I can actually talk to them and be happy, rather than shutting down and just not wanting to talk to anyone or do anything.

[00:03:16] And I, I don't know, I just feel happy around them because they actually accept me for who I am rather than somebody that I'm not. Which is who half the time I pretend to be. And while there was a lot of rumors about me going around a couple or about a year ago, they stuck around. That is probably one of the only reasons why I don't want to be in Oregon anymore actually is cuz of those rumors.

[00:03:39] But the only good thing I can see about that actually would be the fact that it weeded out all of the bad friends from the ones that are actual friends. I'm not trying to trash talk Oregon or anything, but I felt like I was at home in California, genuinely. But when I'm with those friends and whatnot, when we're just hanging out, I feel like I actually belong up here in Oregon.

[00:04:05] It would sound like a really yappy husky. Well, most people are gonna think that's annoying. To me, I feel like that's a comforting sound, cuz I used to have a husky and I raised it from it when it was first born. I don't know. I, I just like huskies. 

[00:04:21] It would look like a little cute picture of a full grown dog playing with a kitten. Actually, I have a picture of that on my phone. My dog, Rocky was playing with my little kitten when my kitten was nine weeks old. I believe that could be tied into like people as well, cuz we're all different people. We come from different places, different backgrounds and everything. So if you can like find a couple people that you actually genuinely get along with and could be friends with and be yourself around, then most of the time you're gonna feel like you actually belong with those people.

[00:04:57] But, I plan on at least visiting my dad every once in a while, and actually three days after my birthday when I'm 18, he's coming up here to Oregon to help me cosign for an apartment because I've been researching it, and Oregon is one of the few places that do allow out-of-state co-signers. 

[00:05:21] The experiences I've had in Oregon have impacted me in a way that genuinely I could not have got from California, because where I lived, I knew everybody and what they did pretty much from day to day life, because I lived in a small town, so I was friends with everyone. But when I came up here, I didn't have any friends, so I had to learn how to actually talk to people rather than people I just already knew.

[00:05:50] And then a lot of different negative stuff happened, but it showed me how to deal with said negative stuff. So. I feel like it shaped me for the better and is teaching me better than anyone could about real life. The best lessons are learned through the hard way.

[00:06:16] Leah Velez: Thanks for listening. You can find us wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you've got your own Lane County story to tell, we'd love to hear it at storyhelix.wordcrafters.org.