After spending most of my life trying to figure out a game plan that would take me far, far, far away from my small, rural hometown where life is lived slowly, I moved away to an urban city in hopes of finding a fast-paced life that I craved for all of those years.
For me, the fast-paced life is a life just for me. I’m living my best life; however, a recent trip back home made me reluctant to leave my hometown again. In the mere 4 days I spent at home, I realized that my hometown has so many charms about it that I didn’t realize I missed.
You're not just another face.
My family has lived in my hometown for 30+ years so it feels like my family knows everyone. Being raised in a town where your family lived years before you were born means you end up knowing a lot of people that have watched you grow up from an infant to an adult. I always run into people when I'm home and they will ask me about school, how my grandparents are doing, and an obscure question about something that I didn't even know that they knew about.
I don't always know the names of the people that talk to me and I know they probably don't know my name either, but they know what family I belong to and where I live. To me, being able to talk to someone that knows you and your family is important and something that I find myself missing when I feel like just another face.
You're not rushed.
In the city, I never have time to do anything. From trying to put my card back in my wallet without being rushed at the grocery store to trying to make a phone call, every aspect of my life is rushed. On the road, everyone is going way over the speed limit at all times and you feel rushed. Sometimes, all you need is to get back to a slower paced life for a little bit.
In my hometown, my life isn't rushed and is lived at a slower pace. I'm able to take a few more seconds to put my card back into my wallet and I'm able to leave the grocery store without being rushed.
I'm able to make a phone call which lasts hours as we talk about everything and questions are exchanged about how so and so are doing which leads to a random gossip session. You don't feel rushed when you are driving because most people are driving the speed limit and if they aren't they will pass you without making you feel rushed.
You feel a sense of community that you can't find anywhere else.
All communities may claim they have community support but in my small town that support is easily recognizable. Each year my town has an annual Homecoming (which is like a carnival) and it feels like all of the community turns out for it with some people even coming home for it. Throughout the year, numerous events are held and it feels like the entire community shows support at these events.
Being away from home has done me so much good, but sometimes I feel the need to go back because I find myself missing something that I can't really pinpoint until I'm back home. I never really understood what makes small town life so appealing until I moved away. Even though I love living in an urban envirment, I miss the charms of smalltown life.
