They say distance is life’s greatest teacher.

And yet, I have never lived outside the comfort of my own state in all my 22 years of life. In fact, I’ve never even lived out of my hometown, sans the one year I spent at a university 150 miles away. I know this place and all of its little nooks and crannies almost as well as I know myself. I can name the best restaurants and secret hangouts like the back of my hand, and I can even tell you when and where the old folks meet for coffee and cards and where you can buy the cheapest milk.

Without a doubt, staying true to your roots has its advantages. For starters, I’ve never really had to deal with the feeling of being a loner in a brand new city full of strangers. I’ve lived in the same town long enough that almost everywhere I go, I’m bound to see at least one familiar face. I am still in touch with people from my childhood, many of whom are still my best friends today. My fondest memories are also here, and visiting home is as simple as driving across town. I’ve built a sturdy network of people I can depend on, and I know I’d have no trouble settling into a career here if I chose to. All things considered, my life here has been pretty good.

So why do I want to leave so badly?

Plenty of my classmates are already applying for jobs and settling down either within town or somewhere in state. They say they’re perfectly happy here; it’s comfortable and familiar.

But not everything living life rooted to one place is rosy.

Once you’ve lived in one place your whole life, especially if it is of the smaller variety, everyone either knows or pretends to know everything about you. For the longest time, I've craved the ability to move away and start with a clean slate. When you never move away from the people you've known forever, your reputation follows you like a shadow. No matter how many times you try to reinvent yourself, people will always remember you for who you were instead of who you are.

In addition, growing up in the same little pocket of one country doesn’t allow for much diversity. For the most part, you’re exposed to the same opinions and worldviews until you get to college and realize there’s a lot more to life than corn fields and agriculture inflation prices. If eventually you do move, you’re hit with a brick wall once you realize you had no former experiences to prepare you for it. Variety is the spice of life, and although you can still meet plenty of people from all walks of life by living in one place, nothing will compare to actually having those experiences firsthand.

However, living life as a nomad comes with its own set of difficulties. Fellow Odyssey writer Holly Holborn can tell you that firsthand.

"Home isn’t a place for me; rather it is a state of mind," Holborn says. "Throughout my life I have lived in over 27 different residences and attended 15 schools from kindergarten through university level. With all of these new schools and new places, I was in a perpetual state of being the 'new kid.' My introduction to the class was no longer a nervous jumble of half-syllables; instead it flowed robotically from my brain.

I was always out of the loop and looking for someone to take me under their wing. It got pretty lonely at times. Even when I did make friends, I would end up moving and leaving them behind. It wasn’t as easy to keep in touch then as it is now with the help of social media. Eventually, I lost the motivation to look for real friendships and ended up making a bunch of shallow friendships. Sure, it fixed the loneliness for a time, but the superficial relationships started turning me into a shallow person. I was losing my sense of self.

In addition to problems on the relationship front, I developed an interesting habit of rearranging my furniture about every three months. Actually, this was masking the bigger issue of being uncomfortable in stability. I never knew what it was like to have a house as the foundation for my memories. I can go to the places I’ve lived and they hold memories, but they are overshadowed by the current lives that inhabit the various residences.

All in all, I can’t say that moving around was a bad experience. It would eventually lead me to become more outgoing and open to new experiences, adding to my adventurous spirit as well as my repertoire of stories. I’m less afraid of taking action, whether it’s for something I want to do or something I want to know. I learned a lot about others as well as myself and I greatly value the friendships that I have been able to make. I will still have trials in the future caused by the negatives of moving, but for now, I enjoy identifying as a nomad and look forward to the next place I’ll live and the next adventure I’ll have. I take my home with me everywhere I go in the form of my heart and my mind full of memories."