I knew for a very long time before I even started looking for colleges that I was going to be moving away. By moving away, I mean anywhere from 2 hours to 2 days worth of driving. Well, I ended up going with the more extreme option because I now go to school 1,000 miles away from where I grew up. (Go big or go home, I guess, right?) What's even more amusing is that my 2nd choice was on the other end of my preferred scale of distance - about 2 hours away from home. As I grew up and progressed through high school, the idea became more and more appealing to me. Don't get me wrong, I love the town that I grew up in. However, growing up in a small town made me realize a few things that ultimately led my decision to move so far away.

The most prominent influence was the fact that I had never moved in my entire life. I went to kindergarten and graduated with pretty much all of the same people. While that's great because I had such a close bond with my graduating class, I felt as if I wasn't being exposed to anything new. My life had hit a wall of monotony. No one was challenging me, or more importantly, my mind. My brain needed a decompressive craniectomy - a part of my skull needed to be removed to release the pressure of my mind pressing up against it, ready to burst with the yearning to be stimulated.

During my senior year, my English teacher told me, "You've changed between last year and this year. I think you've burned yourself out." While I do somewhat agree with this statement because I was a little too well known for being over-involved in my school and community, I believe there was something else going on inside of me as well. I was slowly but surely coming to the realization that there was nothing else left for me in my hometown. My tiny little bubble that I had become so fond of had done me well but had nothing else to offer me. I am by no means bashing my town but simply trying to say that I had exhausted every resource it had provided me. It was time for someone else to benefit from the assets that I once utilized.

I'm extremely appreciative of everyone who helped me grow and thrive during my time spent in the "boondocks" of Massachusetts. This made saying goodbye all that much harder. But I did, because I had to. I had to, because I knew that's what was best for me. To this day, I still believe it is one of the best decisions I've ever made. Not because I needed to run away and forget, but because I needed room to flourish and appreciate what life had already given me.