I never thought much about where I lived until I left it for college.

Backstory, I grew up in a small town in rural Missouri. I’ve always loved having swaths of trees nearby, passing cows and cornfields on my drive to school. At night, I can hear the train blowing its whistle on its way to the power plant down in the bottoms and the cicadas in the woods in the summertime, but little peepers (or frogs) in the spring. During summer evenings, fireflies dance all around the yard. Cutting the grass is a pain; it takes six hours to cut it all on our old tractor and push mower (to trim up the edges). And yes, I know how to drive a tractor (but only really our tractor). I learned when I was about eleven and then when I was sixteen, I learned how to drive it with the cultivator hookup on the back which engages all four limbs and was a lot harder to learn than I thought it was, but makes the ground much easier to till. I’ve learned how to split the wood from the trees that fell in our little forest behind the house. I’ve tried (and sucked at) trying to run atop a rolling hay bail. I’ve canoed on the Meramec River, cleaning up trash along the banks. I've walked and ran through the trails throughout Shaw Nature Reserve. I volunteered there, mostly involved weeding and learning all about the native plants in Missouri. I'm better at driving on curvy back roads than city streets. I've talked to and became friends with the farmers in the area. They know so much about plants and the weather and much much more. I've spent hours outside, reading in the shade. I played in the mud and out among the trees with my siblings as a kid. I've grown up here in rural Missouri.

When I moved into the dorms, starting my college life, it hit home that not everyone grew up where I did. When meeting people, the classic getting to know you question “Where did you grow up?” always came up, along with “What’s your major?” “What do you like to do?” etc. I’d answer and the response was always “Umm… where’s that?” I soon learned that I have to say, “You know where Six Flags is? Okay, well keep going west.” Most people I’ve met live in the suburbs or in the city. When I give further details about where I grew up, some of them laugh a bit at the thought of passing cows and pigs and hate the idea of having to drive 15 minutes to “town” to go to the store and not having any place deliver food .

I've come to know and understand the drawbacks to living out in rural Missouri, but I love it. I want to live here once I’m all grown. I want some land to sprawl out on. Living in the city is alright; everything is so close and pretty conveniently located, but there are so many people around all the time and trees are only here and there. The only animals you really see are birds and dogs. Cars passing by and chatter aren’t for me. I don’t quite enjoy living like that. I love being surrounded by nature and quiet. The only sounds little peepers and crickets and cicadas and wind through the trees with exploration opportunities right outside the door, now that’s where I want to live.

P.S. The pic above is me during a summer trip to Shaw Nature Reserve when we walked down to the Meramec River. I really encourage you if you're in that area go and visit Shaw Nature Reserve and it's amazing! An amazing place to explore and hike, one of my absolute favorite places to go, anytime of the year!