I made the two and a half hour drive home from college yesterday, and coming back to my small town roots made me remember how much I loved growing up in the country. I didn't exactly grow up in the country because I lived with my mom in a suburb of Chicago, but on the weekends I visited my dad in northwestern Wisconsin. I also spent the majority of my summers and school vacations on my dad's farm. After being exposed to the country lifestyle I knew that's how I wanted to live out my life.

I'm so thankful for the things I've learned over my lifetime from living in a small farm town. I have countless memories of hunting and fishing with my dad, having bonfires with my family and friends, and working in my garden throughout the summer. I learned so many different things about life that I wouldn't have learned these things living in an urban area. I learned how to fend off the land and be able to support myself by hunting and planting vegetables in my garden. It's so empowering eating something I made or caught myself. Just knowing that I can live off the land if I needed to is a great feeling.

I also cherish the relationships I've made in our small town community. It's hard to explain to someone who lives in an urban area because country people are totally different from city people. When you live in a town with less than 2,000 people everybody knows everybody, and if they don't know you they treat you like family anyways. It's so nice when I go to the grocery store and the cashier remembers me and asks me how I'm doing. It makes me feel so appreciated, and that's just how most country people are.

I could go on and on about all of the things I loved about growing up in the country, but the most important thing that came out of it is me living a life I love! I couldn't see myself living a life where I didn't ride horses, going for a drive on an old dirt road, or watching the sunset behind a wide open cornfield. For me country living is the best way to go!