I will be the first to admit that I don't like living in a small town. I dream of living somewhere where there is always something to do and somewhere to be. I want to live somewhere where I can take a train or walk to the nearest bookshop (and where there are bookshops) and where I can get Starbucks on a spur of the moment decision instead of having to drive 45 minutes to the nearest one.
I live in a town of 2,343 people in The Middle of Nowhere, Minnesota, so it's safe to say that we don't have bookshops or Starbucks, fun nightlife, or trains. We have corn and cows and the small public library where I am currently writing this. And while I don't always enjoy living in this small town (and most of the time, I don't enjoy it at all), I have learned valuable things from spending my time here for the last 18 summers of my life.
I've learned that sometimes it is nice to do nothing. And to go to some of the small places and do nothing there. Or even to go to some of the small places and do things that will help you get to bigger places. Right now I'm typing this article in our town's tiny library and I'm the only one in here besides the librarians. This is not a place that I wanted to be today, but it is the option that I have. And it's nice to just be in a small place sometimes in an even smaller town. I guess I've learned that.
I've learned to appreciate the little things and the quiet that comes from living in a nowhere town. I live on a farm, so I'm used to the quiet that that brings. When I moved to Texas for school, I learned that not everyone has the luxury of falling asleep to quiet. I hear police sirens and honking cars before I fall asleep, and though that isn't ideal, I now know how to truly appreciate the silence.
I've learned that sometimes you have to make your summers about yourself and not about the cool places you go to. As I've said before, there are no cool places in town. We have a library, a movie theater, and a small coffee shop. We have a Subway and a Dairy Queen and a decent gas station. The nearest Starbucks is 45 minutes away, and the same goes for the closest mall. There aren't any cool parks or Instagram picture worthy locations. But I've learned that this sense of isolation that I've felt from living in the middle of nowhere is the perfect excuse to focus on yourself and what you can do by yourself wherever you go.
I've learned that every chance to go somewhere that isn't home is a gift and something to be cherished and discovered to the best of your ability. Going to Minneapolis is always exciting because I don't always have the option to go. Living in Waco, a significantly larger city than my hometown, was a dream to me. I got the opportunity to do things and discover things that my hometown will never, ever see. And I loved every minute of it.
So it's safe to say that I don't particularly like where I grew up and where I'm going to be spending some of my summer, but I have learned some valuable life lessons after spending 18 years of summers here. Small towns are fine for some people, but definitely not for me. But I will take what I've learned from living here and hold it with me for a long time to come.
