I simply love learning about people and what their interests are. I'm a curious person. That's probably why my grandpa recently gave me a copy of "A Curious Mind" by Brian Grazer to read. I started doing these Adventurer Profiles for a somewhat selfish reason related to this - so I could learn more about different people from Ohio and what they love about the state. @kylejacoby is one of them. Since finding him on instagram, I've not only enjoyed seeing and reading his posts, I've also enjoyed reading his blog, projectofplace. He's a wanderer that's drawn to his roots in Ohio, which is something I think a lot of us can relate to. Be sure to follow both his instagram and blog for inspiration and deep thoughts.
And now, meet @kylejacoby... Where from? This is a tougher question then you might think. Usually I just tell people that I am from Kent, OH. However, the truth is, I am really more of a mutt. I was born in Kent but moved to Maryland when I was 1. From there it has been a rollercoaster of changes. The easiest way to define those changes is to say, the longest I have lived in any house is 4 years. That house was in Stow, OH. Despite this constant change though, I have always had some consistency. Those consistencies have always been centered around Kent, OH. It is where my grandmother has lived my whole life, where the church I grew up in is, where my whole family meets when holidays arrive, and so on. So in a nutshell, I am from Kent and proud of it. Favorite Ohio adventure? Boom, another tough question. This one might even be tougher than the first. Hopefully my next question will be a simple one. It’s ok though, I love talking about adventures I have been on so this is a good tough question. When I look at my favorite adventures there is usually two common denominators, emotion and memories. It isn’t enough to simply go to a place. To have a real adventure you must have something occur within and around you in that space. Or in other words “find answers to questions you didn’t have when you began” (Documentary 180 degrees South). This leads me into one of my favorite experiences I have ever had in the boundaries of Ohio. I love the Shawshank Redemption (bet you didn’t think this is where I was going to begin haha). Whenever life seems to not make sense I put in that movie. If you ask me, I would say the whole thing is cinematic genius. To take it a step further, the last 45ish minutes are the greatest of all time. I have always gravitated to a particular scene. For those who have not seen it I will just set the mood. Morgan Freeman’s character finally gets out of prison. At the request of his friend, whom he made in prison, he travels to a hay field in Buxton that’s “got a long rock wall with a big oak tree at the north end. It's like something out of a Robert Frost poem”. It is at this tree that Morgan Freeman was instructed to dig up something at the base of the rock fence. Long story short, he locates the tree and digs up a tin box that conceals some cash and a note. If you have not seen the movie, I won’t spoil the note. However, know it is a message of hope and goodness that makes your heart and soul burst no matter how many times you have seen it. This tree and this note would be a message and memory in my youth and for years to come. Okay, now for the adventure part. It was 2009 and I was sitting in my Media, Power, and Culture class at Kent State University. While discussing what we did over the weekend, my professor mentioned he visited the tree that is in Shawshank Redemption. Immediately I rose my hand and asked where it was. He replied that it was near the historic site Malabar Farm about an hour and half from our present location. I had no idea that this place that has shaped me so much was somewhere in Ohio. Not just somewhere in Ohio, but within two hours of me (in the movie it is in Maine). I knew I had to go. A few weekends after this new piece of information came into my life, me and a couple friends headed out to find this tree. When we got close to Malabar Farm we began looking around to see if we could locate it. We still weren’t even a 100% sure this was where the tree was located. Nothing online said it was there, and there were no signs anywhere saying “stop here, this is the Shawshank Redemption tree”. Luckily for us, Malabar Farm is a historic site (resident of a famous author) and state park. This means there was a visitor center where we could ask if the tree was really here. After some small talk with the gentleman behind the counter we finally got the piece of information we were looking for. “The tree at the end of Shawshank Redemption movie” he said, “is the tree across the street you passed on your way in.” He went on to tell us that it was not Malabar Farm property. “It belonged to a farmer at the time. When he passed his son took over the land. If you look at the area now you see the rock wall is mostly gone. That is because he began selling the rocks on Ebay when he took over the property. It is still private property so I can’t recommend you walk over to it, but that is indeed the tree.” Despite is warning, we had to go. When you are standing on the road looking at the tree, it doesn’t look like much. Actually, it doesn’t even look like the tree. In the movie it is so serene and feels like it is in the middle of nowhere. Here I stand though, on a street, 50 yards from this tree. I still had hope though. I mean, its Shawshank Redemption, you have to have hope. So we hopped the fence and walked closer to this large standing Oak. Once there we still weren’t sure. You could see the remanence of what looked like a rock wall. Mostly it was just rubble now. I mean, this could be it. I knew there was only one way to find out. In the movie, Morgan Freeman came toward this tree from the opposite side we did. I could tell because he walked up a slight hill, we walked on flat land. So I walk down the hill on the opposite side toward the tree line. I didn’t want to look till I made it all the way down. I had to see it like the movie showed it. I desperately wanted this to be that space. I wanted my heart and soul to burst. I stood there for a moment, facing the forest. Everything was calm, even my breath. It was time. Slowly I turned toward the tree. This is when everything went beyond calm. There are very few moments in life when you are truly present; when anything beyond the moment is too far less to even be recognized. This was one of those moment. This was the tree. This was hope and goodness. We stayed there for hours at the base of that tree and sunk into the moment. I felt like the message of the movie wasn’t just contained on the writings of a DVD. I felt like I was a part of that story. We (okay, I) even pretended that Morgan Freeman was sitting there with us. I will never forget this day, and those emotions. One of the many signs of a life changing adventure. What do you love most about Ohio? There is nothing easy about Ohio. To the world we are a place that doesn’t make sense to be. Most of our land is used for agriculture (which I think is a good thing) and flat. We have destroyed our natural spaces (they are bouncing back). Our cities have fallen from their once industrial prominence. The list goes on. However, despite the many reasons to not be in Ohio, it is filled with people who love and fight for this place. I have lived in many spaces and one thing I know, those kinds of people don’t exist everywhere. For example, in a recent campaign study to find out what issues matter to young adults they found out that two particular cities were different from the others. In those cities they found an influx of young adults moving back not because of the opportunities. They saw an influx because the people of those cities felt they had a duty to that space. One of those cities was Cleveland. Sure, Ohio still does possess cynical people who want nothing to do with it here. But if you let yourself love Ohio you will find others who do too. They are what I love most about this place. Favorite Ohio Company? It has to be Great Lakes Brewing Company. I am an environmental educator who cares a lot about how we treat the earth. As a company, they have embarked on so many initiatives to make Cleveland, and the world a cleaner place. Favorite Ohio drink? Alcoholic, I would have to say Chillwave by Great Lakes Brewing Company. Non-alcoholic, I would have to go with Beckwiths Apple Orchard’s apple cider.
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