Here it goes: I don’t love my hometown and I’m not sorry.

I don’t regret growing up in my small town. I made a few wonderful friends and relationships that I still have to this day. Even though I hated the majority of my time in high school and didn't like a lot of the people I was around, I made a lot of good memories along the way and there are people I couldn't imagine life without.

That being said, I don’t love being from a small town. A lot of my opinions differ greatly from those in my small hometown and while a lot of people are very respectful and civil, some are not. I don’t love the ignorance some people hold just because that is the way they grew up. I fully believe that you should grow up and learn and form opinions of your own and not just believe those that are fed to you as a child.

Another reason that I don’t love my hometown is the gossip. Everyone pretty much knows everyone and if something happens in the town, you’re bound to find out about it. People treat each other with no respect and decide that the newest town secret, regardless of how much it may hurt someone, is the best gossip for the day. People make fun of each other and spread secrets without hesitation, not realizing their words may hurt someone more than they ever could have known or intended.

I don't consider myself a small town girl. My goals for the future include moving to a larger city to pursue acting. I've never been one to set my sights on staying in a small town forever. This isn't me saying that staying in a small town is necessarily a bad thing; if that is what you want in life, then I fully support that, but it's just not for me.

I must put a disclaimer on this article and say that I don’t regret growing up where I did, but I am so glad to be experiencing college and a new chapter of my life and being out of that small town I grew up in.