I hail from a small town in the Florida Panhandle known as Niceville (yes, it’s a real place). It’s not far from Destin, if you’ve ever heard of the beaches of the “Emerald Coast”. Niceville is small, but over the years it at least has developed the staples of modern America, including Walmart and Chick-fil-a. When I turned ten, my family and I moved thirty minutes away to an even smaller town of about two thousand people, and they still live there today.
Niceville was like a bustling metropolis compared to Freeport. Freeport is very much a tractors and sweet tea kind of place. I never developed an interest "Friday Night Lights" or "One Tree Hill" because I lived it. Everybody’s related to everybody, and if there wasn’t an Alabama football game on TV that weekend, the only logical alternative was to go “muddin."
Freeport is friendly, and simple, but I knew it wasn’t where I wanted to stay. Early on in high school, I thought that I’d like to go to an SEC school in a college town. After a four-week summer program at Ole Miss, I new that it wasn’t the right fit. I wanted a new environment that challenged me, maybe even scared me a little bit. I knew I couldn’t spend four years in another small town; I couldn’t play it safe.
I arrived at UCF fall of my freshman year bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I couldn’t believe that I was living in a real city! With things to do! There were Starbucks and Publix on every corner. And the roads had multiple lanes? Gamechanging.
I was somewhat of a novelty when people became aware of my Florabama upbringing. “You used to live in a town called Niceville?” “Freeport just got a Publix?” (It’s true; the Publix that had been promised to us townsfolk back in 2010 just got built in September of 2016.) I can remember one instance when I was in a group interview, and one of the questions asked was about a time that we’d gotten lost. My co-interviewees spoke of misadventures in Peru, Greece, and Nicaragua. I however, resorted to a time when I was lost in the backwoods of Walton County, with no cell reception on my way to a Christmas party.
There are advantages and disadvantages to living in either a big city or a small town. I’m proud to say that I’ve been able to experience both. As a kid, it served me well to be part of a tight knit community, where the concept of giving back was very much instilled. As a young adult though, I felt as if it were necessary to branch out on my own and seek other opportunities.
It’s not always easy having a six-hour drive between Orlando and home, but my parents understand and support my ambitions. I love my family, but trips back home during the school year are few and far between. Freeport is nice to visit, but Orlando never bored me or prompted me to come home on weekends. Even so, it’s nice to know that if I ever need a break from “city folk," Freeport is always waiting for me.
