Small town; big world. The shell shock of college on top of a completely new environment, one very unknown is terrifying. Growing up in a small town with only one road in and out; an hour drive to the closest shopping mall. To being only five minutes away from a strip mall that is never empty.
One might say you go through a withdrawal. A withdrawal from the corn fields and the Amish buggies. No more bonfires on Friday nights and certainly no local ice cream stand open until 11 P.M. You're used to being far from places; like your grandma's and a shoe store. You aren't used to being away from your home. You come from a tight community where everybody knows everybody. Where you have to be careful when dating because that may just be your long distance cousin. You come from same last names like Smith, Graybill, and Campbell. You come from the same friends from kindergarten until senior year. You come from closeness.
A college campus in itself is a mini metropolis. You are forced to learn the networking, the quickest routes. You find the "good" food and what to avoid when on the menu. You know who to avoid and who is approachable. Although you know names, last names no longer matter. It's "Does he have blond hair?", "Where does she dorm?". You find your group of people. The people that become your close knit community. These are the people that will stay awake with you until 3 A.M. studying for a class they don't even take. These are the people that walk out to the parking lot with you at 11 P.M. because you are both starving. The people that pick you up when you fall down the icy stairs. The ones that know everything about your campus life and your home life. These "people" are your friends. They make you never want to leave. They become the first people you tell when something goes wrong or you need help. You call them over break and you say "I miss you' after five minutes. The people that you text when you get home so they know you are safe.These friends soon become family and before you know it you love them just as so.
Although throughout the beginning of this experience you just wanted to go back home. You thought you were going to hate it, that you wouldn't make one friend. You end up making friendships that never burn out. You build relationships that last a lifetime. You learn to navigate, even though your driving skills haven't improved. However, your college family never really quite equates to the warm hugs from your family back home, but they are pretty close. Rural or urban, you can always find your place.