"Oh you're from Romulus?" a response from someone within a hundred mile radius.
"Upstate/Central New York? Uh, where is that?" a response from someone from another state.
I have always been the type of person who loved that 'big fish small pond' feel. I graduated from a kindergarten through twelfth grade central school and chose a college with less than 1,200 undergraduates. I knew what I was doing. I decided that I continually wanted to be someone that everyone knew.
Until recently.
After 21 years of being someone that everyone knew, I have decided that I would enjoy starting over in a place where no one knows me. I would love to be in a place where people have no preconceived notions of who I am, where I come from or if I'm one of "those McDonald(s) from Romulus." I am, one of 27 grandchildren from a family of seven children. Family has always been the most important piece of my puzzle. Until I realized that my professional career needs more than "some" people knowing my name.
I am in no way disregarding the benefits of a small town or a small school. I have loved every minute of getting to personally know my professors and be more than just another number in and out of the classroom. But that is saying that being part of a small town and choosing to stay in a small town would limit my life tremendously. I would continually wonder "what if?"
What if I never left?
What if I never discovered what career path I wanted because my small town didn't offer any type of career?
My town doesn't even have a gas station. It has wineries, breweries and lots of beautiful homes. Not to mention one if not the best (in my biased opinion) of the best lakes in New York State, Cayuga lake. But it doesn't have entry level positions, Wegmans, a mall, car dealerships, pizza shops etc. I could go on for days about the things a small town doesn't have.
But what it does have is that at home feel, that knowing you belong somewhere because you see your neighbor a mile away mowing his lawn twice a week at the same time. It's seeing the distinct four seasons change while not having to worry about walking your dog because you have so much yard he can just run free. It's growing up and living in the same home your whole life thinking, "what could be better than this?" I have my family everywhere and everything I could ever want. It's learning to live without the constant civilization overwhelmingly in your face.
Small towns offer more than most of us ever want to admit. We complain about them constantly, but there's a reason we choose to call them home.
I plan to graduate in less than a year, move onto a new state, a new city and learn about why I have loved living in a small town. Until then, I plan to appreciate my hometown and college, more than I ever have because I know that someday I will say, "this is where I used to call home."
