Born and Bred in Jersey

As any of my friends and family members can tell you, I am an avid reader. I can always be found with a book (or two) and probably my Kindle in purse. I enjoy reading anything and everything, but there is something about books in a series that catch my appeal. One series that I really enjoy is Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels. I like the books for many reasons. For one, they are quick and easy reads and I can often finish them within a few days even with my busy work schedules. Secondly, the book takes place in New Jersey, specifically Trenton. While I have never been to Trenton myself, anyone from Jersey can tell you that there is a certain unity within the state (even though we all know there is a big difference between North Jersey and South Jersey). Thirdly, the main character, Stephanie Plum, is a quirky 30-something who lost her job as a lingerie buyer and finds herself in the employ of her cousin Vincent Plum as a fugitive apprehension agent a.k.a. a bounty hunter. The truth is, she's not very good at it, but with the help of family, friends, and co-workers, she almost always gets her man.

Anyway, I decided to start rereading the series (even though I haven't read that many of them) because the first novel, One for the Money, is coming out in theaters this month. One of my favorite quotes comes from the third novel in the series, Three to Get Deadly, and it deals with New Jersey:

"Adaptation is one of the great advantages of being born and bred in Jersey. We're simply not bested by bad air or tainted water. We're like that catfish with lungs. Take us out of our enviornment and we can grow whatever body parts we need to survive. After Jersey the rest of the county's a piece of cake."

In these modern times, most people associate New Jersey as 1 of 3 things (at least in my opinion):

1. The armpit of America--hey we've all heard it before.
2. Mobsters--thanks to shows like The Sopranos, New Jersey has come to be associated with gangsters and mobsters. While I loved the show, and I'm sure we have our share of mafiosos out there, not everyone in Jersey is like that.
3. Guidos/Guidettes--again, thanks to the show Jersey Shore most people assume that New Jersey is full of Italian-Americans who run around in wife-beaters, pumping iron at the gym for hours every day, having tanning beds in our homes, and styling our hair with a pouf or blow-out. While I will admit that this show is one of my guilty pleasures, I know for a fact that not everyone in Jersey is a guido or a guidette.

While New Jersey might not be anything close to what people think of when they hear "Garden State", I do believe that we are great at adaptation. Drive throughout New Jersey and you will hit the beach, the county, the Pine Barrens, urban settings, surburban settings, and anything and everything in between. I love that I can drive two and a half hours down to Seaside Heights to enjoy the beach and boardwalk for the day, and then be able to take a half an hour bus ride into New York City and take in the sites and culture the next. I can go out west to Sussex County and observe the country. I can look around my own neighborhood and witness suburbia. I can drive down down south to the Pine Barrens and canoe for a day in search of the Jersey Devil. I can go anywhere in New Jersey and adapt to what I'm up against.

Back in 2006, I decided to participate in a mission trip that landed me in South Africa for a month. It was my first time away from home for an extended period of time. It was only the second time I was a plane. And before I knew it, I was across the ocean in a completely different continent, in one of the poorest parts of all of South Africa. Was I scared? Of course. Was I intimidated? Most definitely. But I adapted. I made new friends. I reexamined my faith. I learned. I loved. I held deprived children in my arms and watched their smiles brighten when I look their pictures. I teared up when they told me they loved me. I struggled when they asked me to share tales of America. It was a very hard, but fullfilling experience. One that I think about all the time. I adapted.

In early 2011, I realized that I was struggling with my bills. While my retail job was covering them, I was left with little to no money at the end of the week. And calling out of work was not an option because I couldn't afford it. Because of the struggling economy and lack of full-time jobs for entry level positions, I decided to get a second job. Was it tough? Hell yes. Was it exhausting? Please, I used to work 8-4 at job #1 and drive an hour to job #2 and work 5-11 just to wake up and do the same thing the next day. While I still have my moments of anxiety, where I feel overwhelmed with work, I adapted and I can go from one job to the other, at least four times a week, and still function. Yes, I still don't get as much sleep as I should. Yes, there are days when I wish I only had one job. But with this new job came new friends, a new appreciation for animals and for what their owners will do for them, and an even greater passion to help those poor creatures that are spending their time in shelters.

Alright, so maybe adaptation is not necessarily a "New Jersey" trait; maybe I'm just biased because this is where I was born and raised. But I do think that culturally and geographically we live in a place that gives us prime opportunities to be able to adapt.

That's what I hope to do this upcoming year. I realize now I cannot always control the situations or the people in my life. I mean if I could, I think that would become boring after a while. However, just like I did in Africa, just like I did when I had to get a second job, I will learn to adapt to whatever life throws at me. And I will do it because I was born and bred in Jersey.

I'll keep you posted xo