When I think of graduating college in a few short months I think about all of the possibilities that my future could hold.

Traveling abroad to immerse myself in the foreign language my bachelor's degree is in, developing more knowledge in my field of study, and educating myself further to become the best I can be at my job. Be that as it may, I am very certain of one thing. I want to move out of Springfield after the next school year is done.

*cue cries from the city*

I have gone to elementary school, middle school, high school, and college all within the same town. When it came to choosing colleges I ended up selecting Missouri State thanks to their amazing colorguard program which often made me feel like I lived worlds away from home. However as I have grown up and started looking into career options outside of Missouri I am being met with two sets of comments.

"You need to go. You've done everything you can here but your field of work will be bigger elsewhere," or "One of the relatives will just guilt trip you into staying here like they did me." Pretty big difference between the two.

The ones who stay within the realm of the first comment understand that my job field is bigger elsewhere. They understand that I have longed to be on my own and be independent. They understand that I have been told time and time again that I "needed more time to grow up than my brothers."

The ones who make the second comment want me to stay. I appreciate them wanting to keep me close, but isn't it time to let me be the adult you claim I took longer to become? I love that you want me at a close proximity but I have been at a close proximity for most of my life. You've watched me travel to Florida, Ohio, Indianapolis, and Georgia but I always come back home. I always was at home doing my homework, wondering what dorm life could have been like. Wondering what other friends I could have made in college outside of the one activity I was involved in until I was a junior.

When I was a junior I moved into my first apartment. When I began living in my apartment, I found myself going home sometimes but not very often. This was due to the fact I had never experienced the life that both of my brothers had experienced when they moved into their dorms and fraternity house. Although I am met with resentment due to my lack of appearing at home sometimes, it is me making up for the time I didn't get to spend in a dorm and being away from home for college.

So as it seems, I am extremely conflicted on what my future looks like. On one hand, I want to please the people who want me to stay close but on the other, I want to learn to fly on my own. I want to go where the language I've studied for so long has a larger population within the United States. I want to be able to come back home and get the rush of excitement when you've been gone so long. I want to see where life takes me.

To everyone who has told me to expand my horizons and continue my career where it is most beneficial, thank you. Your support means the world to me. To those who want me to stay, I love you but my degree will not flourish here. My degree is meant for a region where the Spanish language is used. It is meant to help develop new ideas and ways of thinking for businesses throughout the country and internationally. Stop holding onto the idea that I will stay in the same town for the rest of my life. My degree will not benefit me here.