Being raised in a small town is a blessing. You grow up in a tightly-knitted community where everyone knows everyone since pre-k (which can be a good thing just as much as a bad thing). You make friends who you've known practically forever, and you go through everything together. You have only a few hangout spots to go to where there is potential to see half of the community's population at any given time.
Life is great when you live in a small town; until you go to college.
I never realized how much of a bubble I was in while growing up. Everyone came home from their first semesters at college and I was recently catching up with some of my high school friends. We had just sat down at the local Starbucks, where we must have seen at least a quarter of our graduating class (see what I mean?). While we exchanged stories of our first-semester experiences, we all realized that we have just gotten our first exposure to the "real world" and how it wasn't anything like we expected it to be.
Living in a small town sheltered us from the real world. The "real world" is big, scary and full of mistrust. You can't just go out for a run around large, populated college towns, or leave your car unlocked in an unfamiliar lot. You can't trust everyone that you meet just because they've got a promising face. You must accept the fact that people are not to be trusted and that you don't know anyone anymore. At any given moment, things can go south and the people you thought you knew may not be there anymore.
The biggest thing that I found in college that opened up my eyes to the "real world" was the cultural diversity that is present in other areas. I actually experienced being part of the minority group. Growing up in a small town was very different in that it was predominately white. Diversity did exist but in extremely small amounts. I now work in an area where diversity is prevalent and I am part of the minority. While this certainly isn't a negative thing, it is different and I have learned what it's like to not be in the majority; something that I never expected to happen. I now understand what it's like to get stared at or whispered about when I'm walking on the street because I look different than the rest.
The real world is different in college than it was in my small hometown, too. There are lots of students and professors with various agendas, and it's likely that they won't stop and take a second glance at you if it inconveniences them. I learned that I have to make my own way to solve problems because sometimes all you've got is yourself. Contrarily, sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone and reach out to those who you normally wouldn't bother.
Being a small town girl was great because I became close with many people in my community. However, we experienced tons of shelter and were never exposed to the real world which is full of cultural diversity. My first semester at college was neither positive nor negative. It was eye-opening and overwhelming with the fact that the world is a much bigger place than my hometown, which spans about 6 miles and holds a few thousand residents. So here's to all of the small town girls and guys; leaving the bubble isn't easy, but you're certainly not alone.
