This past May, I moved out of my Freshman dorm and back into my parents home for the summer. I looked for a job, I had a few, five actually. Two didn't work out, but that's okay because I learned a lot from that experience. I spent some time with family, probably less than I should have, but I was working, and doing things that made me happy, so I guess that's okay for now. I'll regret it later, I'm sure. I can't imagine I won't miss home after nineteen years of living in Schoharie county, but there are definitely a few things I won't miss.

I won't miss having to drive twenty minutes to get to a supermarket, when I've gotten used to the convenience of walking to Target or Star Market any time I needed something. I won't miss the way everyone seems to know everyone's business, and they try to gossip about useless nonsense when there is so many more important issues to talk about. I won't miss running into people I couldn't stand in high school in Wal-Mart, and I definitely won't miss scanning people's groceries when they request to speak to my manager. ("No, the two for $5 Doritos and Lays chips are not together, it's either two bags of Lays or two bags of Doritos. My manager is going to tell you the same thing.") But there are a few things that I will miss for sure.

I'll miss my favorite swim spot by Walhalla rocks, and the rope swing. I'll miss getting Arizona Iced Tea when I go for walks through town, as well as the hikes up Vroman's Nose on hot summer days. How can I forget picking strawberries in June and blueberries in July? Making jam and filling the house with the smell of sweetness and pectin. I'm going to miss my family and their continued support in all of my endeavors. I'll miss hearing my Dad snoring from the other room, and my Mom's home cooking, but there comes a time where I need to leave, and now is my time.

With nineteen years of living in a farm town and a year of living in a city, I have learned plenty of things that will give me the strength to hold it together when I spread my wings and take what the world has to offer. I'm ready to enjoy the freedom I have waited for all of my life. The freedom to walk down the street and not find something empty, to find bustling excitement instead of farmland. I'm ready to feel successful. After years of feeling unsuccessful because I didn't fit in and couldn't do the work to fit in where I grew up, I will finally start to feel accepted and successful. So what if I don't know how to groom a cow now? I know all the presidents and their political parties and their vice presidents, that I can use. I can read a history book cover to cover in less than twenty four hours. That has value. I can finally start to see the value in the things I do because I am leaving a place that never nurtured them.

Leaving here will give me endless opportunities, and I can't wait to see where this takes me.