Andi Marie TisdellAndi Marie Tisdell is a Vermonter, hiker, gardener, poet, board gamer, future English teacher, and camp counselor. AboutTo really understand who I am, a person would have to understand where I grew up. I was born in my hometown’s hospital on November 7th, 2004 at 11:23, only a few minutes before my due date. My mom, prior to the birth of my older brother, was an elementary school teacher and special educator. For most of my early childhood she ran a home daycare. My dad taught music for a middle school a few towns over. That hospital is the same place I went to have my blood drawn for the first time, and the same place that helped me when I had debilitating migraines. Shortly after being born, I was brought to the house I would live in for the next eighteen years. It’s the same house my grandfather had built after my grandmother kicked him out for being an adulterer. It’s the same house my mother moved back into (when he died at a young age from a heart attack) so my aunt would have somewhere to come home to. It’s the same house I broke into through the doggy-door of after my family had gone on vacation and misplaced all the spare keys. It’s the same house that’s so full of books I used to be afraid it would fall down. It’s the same house I learned to walk, talk, and cry in. It’s a home. Legally, my home is in the town of Morristown, but that’s not what most people call it. Most people call it Morrisville. Morrisville is a place, with a rich history, but it is not the same thing as Morristown. I live in Morristown. The distinction has become more and more important to me as I have learned about the history of this area. Morrisville is newer and smaller. It’s denser. I love it too, but it’s not the place I grew up. I grew up in a town, not a village. My town is an amalgamation of several communities, Morristown Corners, Cadys Falls, Sterling, and more, that joined together to survive. To me that’s what life is about; coming together as people. |