Living in a small town can really hinder your drive to go places. I know most people think that the majority of small town people want to get away from it, and that is true, but the devastating part is that most of us don't get the chance to or we lose sight along the way.

Growing up I was never popular; I was an outcast in my own little way with my own group of friends like most people. For the longest time, I would always tell myself and my friends, who were eager to get away, that I didn't want that. I couldn't bring myself to leave my family, my friends, my home. I cared so deeply for the place that I grew up in and the people I called family. It broke my heart to even think about leaving it all behind, even if I didn't want to stay. But now that I have grown up and graduated from high school, I can say that the tides have turned. It took a lot of ups and downs, twists, and turns before I realized that putting your future into other people's hands is like suicide.

Living for other people's happiness is destroying your own in order for the people you love to be satisfied, which isn't at all satisfying to you. Living your life for others isn't really living. It's existing in a world you have no control of. Which is why you need to live for yourself; get away from the town you grew up in. Don't hold back on your desires and dreams for someone else. You may get homesick, but you will regret not knowing what it's like to be yourself in a world full of possibilities. Ignore that old friend from high school that you haven't heard from in months that's wanting to "hang out." They are one of the ones who didn't quite make it out of the chains that living in a small town puts on you and are just looking for a new source of gossip. They too had dreams to leave but got stuck in the midst of it all. Now the only way they can live is through other people. Don't let those people talk you into staying. Get away as soon as you can.

And so what if your family or friends don't agree with or accept what you want to do with your life or what your job or major is. That is solely your decision. It is your life, not theirs. You may want them to support you, and the right people will, but you are living your life for you and no one else. Do what makes you happy not what makes you a billionaire. Growing up in a small town, you see a lot of people struggle financially and that scares you. It makes you want to risk not doing something you love because you are too afraid that you will also get stuck in a small town and waste away. But that doesn't have to be true. Exploring sights outside of a small town will really brighten your perspective on all the things that are possible if you just simply get away from it all.

See the world. Travel. Meet new people in new places. Test your ability to get out of your comfort zone. You can do anything you want but just go! I know a lot of people think that if you do leave, you have to stay gone, don't believe that. There will always be times where you will come back to visit family, friends, or to just simply reminisce. You don't have to forget where you came from, just don't let the opinions of others dictate how you live your life or where you go in life. Live life for yourself. This is your story and only you can decide where you're going.

Life is too short not to explore the world and be happy.

So get away girl (or guy). Be the eagle that soars through the skies over every small town giving a beacon of hope to every individual that to wishes to get away.