Sounds cliché, I know, but I had to tell my story. I spent a long time wanting to be the small town girl in a big city. Despite how cliché it may be, it truly has been an experience worth sharing.

I grew up in a very small town where everyone knows everyone and nothing ever happens. You basically can’t leave your house without running into someone you know and everyone comes out for the high school football games on Friday nights. It’s just how small towns are. You go to school with the same people your whole life, you graduate high school, then what?

I chose to leave my little town and take my chances in a city. I kind of had myself convinced that moving to a big city wouldn’t be that big of a deal. I figured I could just blend right in and pretend like I’ve lived there my whole life. I was very wrong. I stand out. Big time.

I’m basically a tourist who just so happens to live there. I have about 300 skyline pictures on my phone. I get weird looks every time I stop to take a picture. I look like a tourist and, to be honest, I don’t really care. When you drive in my hometown all you see is corn for miles. These skyscrapers are pretty much the coolest thing ever to me.

It took me a while to learn how public transportation works. Every time I got off the train, I probably looked like an idiot trying to find which exit I was supposed to go to. I also made the mistake of getting on an express train once. That was a scary moment.

Honestly, I spend a lot of time trying to figure this city out and maybe one day I’ll be able to get around without constantly having to use google maps. I don’t see that happening anytime soon, but hey, a girl can dream.

No matter how out of place I feel sometimes, I know I made the right choice in coming here. See, I believe everyone needs to leave their hometown at least once in their life. You just have to see what else is out there. Living in a city has completely changed my perspective on life.

I’ve definitely had days where I wished I had never left my town. Things are simpler in a small town. Then I see that skyline again (and I take yet another picture) and I realize why I came here in the first place. I realize that this small town girl was not meant to spend her whole life in the town that is made up of corn and roads that are constantly under construction.