No matter the reason for our departure, many of us have have to leave our hometowns for some reason or another. Whether it be for school, military, work or any other reason, sometimes we simply just need to go.
At first, we try to keep our hometowns a part of who we are. We allow our hometowns to characterize us, and we are often proud to tell others about where we grew up. We have this idea in the back of our minds that we will one day return to our hometowns and that everything will suddenly be perfect and less stressful again. We just simply need to return, right?
But what happens when we do return? Are we truly happy? It's nice being able to spend time with family and old friends from our past. It's comforting to drive down the same streets and roads and listen to the same radio stations that we used to listen to every day. It's reassuring to see the same old lady on her front porch, rocking away and looking at the cars passing by, and it's an interesting feeling coming back home and appreciating the buildings that have stood for decades and wonder how many families have called it "home." It sure is a different kind of experience.
The longer we stay away from our hometowns, the harder it is to come back. It's OK to visit and it's OK to miss it, but we don't belong here anymore. After a while, people begin to forget about us just as we begin to forget about them, and we've simply become people that "once were." They'll hug us when they see us and they'll ask about life, but they've accepted that we're no longer a part of this town like we used to be.
For those who we grew up with, who have stayed in our hometowns, we find it hard not to be judgmental about them. How could they not make something of their lives? Why were they in such a hurry to get married? To have kids? Why didn't they leave? The thing is though, we could have easily been them if we stayed, as well. They made their choice to stay and we made our choice to leave. We just have different goals that we wanted to reach for our own personal selves.
Life carries on with or without us. Our hometowns are changing and we can't be upset about that. They may be changing at a slow pace, but they're changing nonetheless...and so are we.
It's scary because the place we've always called "home" no longer feelings like home and neither does our new location of residence, but there's something liberating about that, too. We get to create a new home for ourselves wherever we want, and we'll always have the memories of our hometowns to guide us in the right direction.
I'll always love my childhood hometown, but I'm anxious to see what my future has in store for me and what my adult hometown may be like.
