I am a born-and-raised small town girl. Growing up, my family's idea of a day trip was up to Portland which included browsing shops, getting turned around, and lots of traffic. At the end of the day, though we always had fun together, it was almost a relief to return to our quiet homestead.

When the time rolled around for me to go to college, I knew I had to leave town if I ever wanted to get out of my comfort zone and see the world. When I arrived at UO, I remember carrying my phone with Google Maps running everywhere I went around campus. Now that I've lived in a college town for a little over a year, I can proudly say that I still have no idea where I'm going half the time and I'm still not entirely used to my new environment.