To the place I grew up:

I have lived in the same house since I was 6 months old, like many people here. I attended the same school district and wandered the same streets for 19 years. I pass the same gas station and water tower on my daily commute from work. Any major place I want to go to takes about 10 minutes on a good day. You are small enough that everyone knows everyone, and a person cannot leave their house without seeing someone they know. Since this town is in between a small and mid-sized city, everyone knows everyone. Therefore, everyone knows everyone's business. Even the things you don't want anyone to know, the soccer moms gossip about it. Did you and your best friend just have a massive fight? Well, these people knew it before you did. It is to the point where you pull up to a stoplight in front of the school and you have a 50/50 chance of seeing your ex and his new girlfriend who coincidentally hates you. Or better yet, you go out to dinner with your brother and sister and see a group of girls you know huddled together pointing and snickering at you (yes, that has happened).

Throughout high school, my friends and I had a routine-like weekend. We would go to whatever sporting event was in season, and then went to the same restaurants (Zorba's and Applebee's) that when I am home I still see tremendous amounts of people I used to know. The older I got, the less I wanted to be here in general. I will admit that the small doses of home, driving my old stick shift truck, make me feel a little better when I come down with a case of homesickness, but overall, you make me feel stuck.

Frankly, I am tired of it. I feel as if I have outgrown your city limits.

First off, I do not want my parents to think this is their fault. See, my immediate family are the only ones who live downriver. Both my grandparents live over an hour away as well as my cousins. We are the first generation to live here, which is not the case for most of the downriver dwellers. My family will have a home wherever we are, together. It is not a city or any tangible object.

It was not a bad place to grow up, but not a great place to live. I want more in life than going to work and going to the same places. I want to see new things and experience life. Much like my last article, I want to be present in my life, not just floating along absently. There is more to life than Coney Islands and Friday night high school football games. I am aware that many people who live here are perfectly content with this lifestyle. I am just not one of those people. For those of you who are happy, I hope that continues. For the majority of my friends who say they hate this place and can’t wait to move, then do it. Life is way too short to be unhappy somewhere. My hometown is the prime example of the type of people that say that want to leave but never do. The world is yours for the taking.

I am so thankful to have made the decision to move away to school. I have had the best times, and I am happier knowing I have all the opportunities in the world right now. I am even more thankful for my parents and siblings understanding the need to get away from this place for even nine months at a time.