Hi everyone. Let me start by introducing myself, my name is Erin Mullinax. I have been married to my wonderful husband Daniel for 14 years this past November. I have been a student at Southwest for 4 semesters now and will be here for 2 more after this one. I am working on my Engineering Associates Degree and will be transferring to University of Memphis to earn a dual bachelor's in Math and Electrical Engineering.
My journey to Memphis has been a long one. I have lived here since the day after the 2004 election. Prior to that, I started out in Saratoga Springs, New York. My step-father joined the military and we moved to California, Georgia, and Mons, Belgium. I attended High School at a DOD school in Europe with 52 different nationalities of students. From there, I moved to Kansas and married my first husband. We were married in Nov. 1992 and divorced in Aug. 1994. I moved back in with my parents in Virginia and worked as a cashier and a waitress. The second waitressing job is where I met Daniel. Daniel worked for a company that rebuilds cable television systems, so we moved 11 times in 7 years. We lived in Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Mississippi, and Alabama. In 2003, we left that industry and moved to Georgia to be closer to my family. October of 2003 found us in Valdosta, GA where my younger brother attended Valdosta State University. The job market in Valdosta was very stagnant, so my husband became a truck driver. He worked for Werner Industries and J.B. Hunt. In July of 2004 he quit being a truck driver and looked for work around the Valdosta area. After 4 months of his unemployment, we decided to move to Millington to be near his family. The first year we were here, he worked at a factory in South Memphis. In May of 2006, my mother moved in with us and Daniel went back to truck driving. November of 2007 we bought our first house and finally established ourselves in a permanent environment.
I do not know Memphis very well. Our main focus was in the Millington area with family and friends. Daniel's parents lived here for 25 years and his mother worked at a bar in Millington for 21 years, so we already had an established circle of acquaintances. My exposure to Memphis was mainly centered around the Beale Street area and East Memphis where I worked. Through my job in the electrical industry, I was exposed to the industrial areas and St. Jude, where we helped build the Chili's Care Center. Since I joined the Honor's Academy last semester, I have been introduced to much more of Memphis. The arts, theater, and museums especially. I am slowly learning my way around Midtown and do not have to call Doug as often for directions. I like the cultural diversity in Memphis and the amount of different things there are to do. I admit, I have not been to many of the traditional "touristy" places like the Zoo, Graceland, or the downtown Museums, but I am slowly rectifying that. The two main things I dislike about Memphis are the corrupt political arena and the crime. Since moving to the area, my car has been broken into twice and I have had two car accidents. I have witnessed two crimes myself and had family members who are victims of theft.
What I hope to get out of this class is a better understanding of Memphis, the people who call Memphis home and the culture of Memphis as a whole. I am looking forward to exploring more of the area and learning more of the history. I have already made some very good friends through school and the Honor's program and feel that this class will enhance my comprehension of the Memphis psyche.
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