I grew up in a small town area about a thousand miles from where I live now on the east coast. I had a small handful of friends my entire life, I went to a high school of about seven hundred students, and I was surrounded by country roads and cornfields. For as dull as it may sound to you, it was actually really great. But I didn't realize just how great it was until I told myself I needed to make a change and moved to a place I was barely familiar with.

We all have dreams as we're leaving high school and entering the adult world. I had a few myself, but they were nearly impossible to reach when I was living in my hometown. I spent my time trying to think of what I could do with the options I had, but there were few and I began to be riddled with anxiety. The pressure of watching my peers going to college successfully and moving up in the world as they planned, on top of the pressure from my family at home was enough to emotionally and psychologically mess me up. I felt I was going nowhere. The anxiety became so much for me that I knew I had to take drastic measures if I wanted to save myself. So I did the one thing that I never thought in a million years I'd be able to do. I left the only life I ever knew and moved about five states away to a small town where I only knew one person.

Growing up in the hometown I lived in was hard because I am an introvert and have always been very socially awkward. It's not that I don't know how to talk at all, but I get anxiety really bad about making small talk with strangers or people I barely know. I can never figure out what to say or how to start a conversation with someone I'm not sure I have much in common with. But after I moved away about three years ago, I was forced to step out of my comfort zone so that I could make friends in a place where I only knew my uncle. I was lucky enough to have a job as a barista lined up for me when I moved here, so my coworkers were the first people I really ever interacted with. But every single day, I thank God that I had the opportunity to start off my friendships at that job because it was the stepping stone that helped me figure out who I was, who was really there for me, and who I want to be for my future. Now, I have less social anxiety and am extremely loud and weird and laugh way too much for my own good. And I love it.

Today, I still work at that job and it can be extremely stressful, but my coworkers make it all feasible. Since my first day working there, I have gained so many friendships with some of the best people I have ever met in my life. Through each and every one of them, I've figured out who I am and have become comfortable in my own skin. I don't even recognize the person I was when I lived back home. I only felt I could be myself with a couple people there. But since moving away, I've learned to accept and love the things about me that I never thought I could:

I'm an extremely weird human being, and that's okay because most of my friends are too.

I don't care what anyone else thinks. I used to constantly worry all the time. But guess what? Everyone is only worrying about themselves, so don't even bother giving it a second thought.

It's okay to be different. Fitting in and looking the same as everything else is the most boring thing you could do on this planet.

Thousands of the little insecurities I've always had about myself have turned into hundreds. I still have a lot, but that number slowly gets smaller as I get older and realize that everyone likes me for who I already am.

Now that I've had time to adjust to this new life for myself, I look back and realize that if it wasn't for the life I had back home, I would've never been able to do this for myself. It was extremely hard to leave my friends and family, but I know now that it was the best decision I ever made. We should do the things that scare us. They are the only things that will ever get us out of our comfort zone. We will never know what is out there waiting for us if we aren't willing to try and find it.

So for everyone who is scared or unsure about making a change in their life such as leaving the only place they've ever known, I strongly encourage you to take that first step and say that you do want something more for yourself. It will slowly get easier. I moved from a small town surrounded by cornfields to a town that triples in population during the summer and is five minutes from the ocean. Plus, I got to meet Jason Segel and made Bill Cosby's latte, but I don't tell people that one anymore...

There's nothing wrong with staying in the same place you've been all your life if it makes you happy. But if you're wanting something more for yourself, make a change. I did, and it was the best thing I ever did for myself. I truly didn't know what happiness was until I moved away.