Did the town you grew up in have one street that had everything anyone could ever need? Are there department stores in larger cities that are bigger than your entire mall? Do you personally know everyone who graduated with you from high school?
If you are now enveloped in more than your daily dose of nostalgia, then you are most likely from a small town.
To be from a small town is not just about knowing everyone's business. It is a lifestyle and a frame of mind that you don't become fully aware of until life challenges that mindset. For a lot of us, that challenge comes in the form of stepping onto a college campus.
A college is a place where people from around the world socially collide in such a way that encourages looking at life through alternative perspectives, prioritizing certain beliefs, and experiencing something new. For those from a small town, this is no easy task. We come to campus with not only a certain way of doing day-to-day activities but a certain way of thinking.
Small towns are notorious for being set in their ways, whether with their religious beliefs, acceptance of non-traditional sexual orientation, political values, family structure, and lifestyle choices. But just because that person has been that way before, doesn't mean they lack the potential to broaden their horizons. Although true, this is a longer process for a small town person due to one pesky character trait within them.
A strong sense of tradition.
This affinity to the way things have always been done makes someone from a small town approach change like going on a blind date: full of apprehension, interest, and anxiousness. I come from a small town southwest of Buffalo, New York and this was a very real thing I experienced. For starters, I had never interacted with a deaf or hard of hearing the individual, and all of sudden I was at a college with a national institute devoted toward accessible education for deaf and hard of hearing students. My hometown also didn't place much support toward the hockey community, which could not be farther from the reality I live in at college.
My freshman roommate always enjoyed pointing out my small-town tendencies when I tried major food chains for the first time, expressed what I was looking for in a partner, and even how I dressed. Although I rolled my eyes every time he did that, I really did have the mindset that there is going to be one way from point A to point B in my life. I was successful and happy in high school and had minimal desire to deviate from my way of thinking.
Now that I have recounted my freshman year self, allow me to challenge you to see your surroundings as an opportunity to collect and appreciate alternative perspectives like they are that last piece of your favorite pie. I am not encouraging you to throw out your sense of self in an effort to reinvent yourself in an instant, as it would be difficult to keep your sanity while managing that much change all at once. I am simply asking you to use what is happening around you as a constant lesson that you can process into wisdom.
There are two keys to garnering this wisdom. The first is being observant and reflecting on what is going on around you. Too many people who are comfortable in their ways just passively watch what is going on in their environment without taking a perspective from it.
The second key is to be an active listener not only when in the office, the classroom, in meetings, etc., but also when just having casual conversations. I hope I sound like a broken record when you read this, since its importance is unparalleled. I have learned so much from my friends and family during day-to-day conversations. Seeking the reasons behind why people act and speak the way they do, allows us to understand their perspective and grow from the experience.
A college campus is the perfect setting to turn a linear way of thinking into a web of beliefs and values founded in compassion and understanding. The diverse nature of the student body and faculty offers a multitude of ways to exercise the mind in an inclusive manner. After almost four years of being a college student, I have changed immensely and continue to do so. I implore you to not wait for opportunity to knock on your door.
