I'm a country girl at heart, but I didn’t know this until I moved to the city, chasing after the life I thought I always wanted, full of glamor, style, and flashing lights. Moving to the city is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and probably one of the hardest things I will ever do. Though it was hard, it will be the easiest thing I’ve ever had to say goodbye to. Sometimes it takes moving away from home to figure out who you really are, and where you really belong.

It’s been 3.5 years since I moved to the city, and there are still so many things that I don’t understand about the city life, like traffic for example. Where I come from, traffic doesn’t’ really exist. In fact, the only kind of traffic we really ever experience is during harvest season, when the tractors and semi-trucks own the road. I’m still baffled by the amount of time it takes to walk to your car, get onto the freeway and to your final destination. Freeway? What’s a freeway? That isn’t even a term used in the country, however, gravel road is most definitely a term used frequently.

The speed of the city is fast - and I mean fast. New York is famously known as “the city that never sleeps,” but really this slogan applies to pretty much any major city. There is no such thing as “lights out” or “hours of the night,” because they don’t exist. There is never a time when the roads are bare, nor is there a moment of silence. The sounds of airplanes, helicopters, police and fire sirens is 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. Time doesn’t slow down and neither do the people.

The city is a concrete jungle, literally. There are plenty of places to play and various events, festivals, restaurants and sports venues to attend. While there is plenty of things to do in the city, everything costs money -- being a poor college student makes finding cheap things to do really hard. Want to go to a vintage trunk show? You’ll have to pay to get in. How about a concert? That’ll cost too. At least for me, the city has dulled my imagination, adventurous spirit, and spontaneous lifestyle. There aren’t many places that you can just start up a bonfire, nor is there a place where you can really lay outside on a blanket and see all of the amazing stars in the night sky—there are too many lights for them to shine (talk about a Debbie downer).

This past weekend, I took a day road trip with some of my best friends. There's just something about getting into a car and out of the city’s chaos that is exhilarating. The feeling of excitement I once had about living in the city is the now same feeling I have when I leave it. I guess that's kind of an oxymoron, isn't it? As soon as the open road is in plain sight, my lungs let out the build of tension, stress, and anxiety the city has filled me with. Up in the trees, where the open land roams I can really, finally breathe. City scrapers are replaced with trees, pastures and lots of open grass and I finally feel a bit more at home. To simply put it, I am unfit for city life. I have a deep admiration for those who love the city and all that it has to offer, but frankly, it’s just not for me.

I must thank the city, however, for introducing me to a whole new world of life I never even knew existed. I've gone out of my comfort zone, learned new things and experienced more than I ever would have if I had stayed at home. Change is challenging. It takes hard work, patience and diligence to do the hard things in life. The city hasn't changed me, I wouldn't let it. But without it, I never would have embraced the simple, country girl that I am.