Okay, let me just tell you how beautiful the night time stars are with a backdrop of forest creatures and horses rustling around. It's absolutely breathtaking to sit outside and just listen to animals making cute little forest sounds or whatever they're doing in the wild. Just close your eyes and pretend that you're on a dark farm full of horses and cats and there's a sky full of stars above your head. Now cancel out any noises you may hear. Imagine being in a place free of light and noise pollution. You get the picture, right? It's absolutely breathtaking.

I'm born and raised Rhode Island, which means I'm familiar with the sound of fireworks year round and always hear someone honking their cranky ass car horn. I live off a busy road and there's enough light pollution in my neighborhood to make nine at night feel like nine in the morning. I also live near a school which means early rising to the sound of children being too loud and parents being too annoyed. Buses are on my street every twenty minutes and there is always a crowd at the neighborhood bar (shout out to Bailey's Pool House in N.P. for being lit every day of the week). It's safe to say I grew up in a populated area and getting away from the city is next to impossible. So I'm a proud, self-proclaimed city-slicker. I love going on the back roads of RI on my dirt bike and playing in the mud, but at heart I know I'm meant to be in the city, it's where I belong. But on my recent family excursion we've traded in our Ugg boots and well made Dunkin Donuts' coffee for cowboy boots and shitty, southern Dunkins' (sorry southerners, but northeast Dunkin Donuts' can not be beat).

So here I am, on my aunt's farm, petting feral cats and playing country music on Pandora. This is my first time away from city-life in about a year. I have never been more at peace. This south Florida farm is dope AF. I highly recommend every "city-slicker" get the hell out of town and treat themselves to a week of country life. The dirt road leading up here might make you lose the deposit on the rental car, but it's worth it.

The reason I'm a high recommender of just visiting these small rural towns is because it takes so long to get anywhere from where I am. Like to go to my cousin's football game (let's not even get started on how seriously the south takes football) took us over half an hour. Like what is that all about. Second, the water tastes weird as hell. I'm afraid of it. But most importantly, I can't see myself in such a peaceful area for so long. I think I'd go nuts. Being used to the hustle and bustle of a city really messes with you when you enter a small farm town and see nothing but cows and trees. I saw weird farm equipment EVERYWHERE. Like where did all this room for farms come from???? Maybe it's the Rhode Island in me that's complaining about this long commute and weird farm equipment, but I think it's more due to the fact that I am extremely out of my element. I belong in a busy city that has limited green space and an awesome baseball team (shout out to Boston!).

If you're like me and raised in a city setting, don't assume you'll love the quiet small town life. I thought I'd love it down here, but I'm actually really concerned about animals finding the trash or the horses escaping. Like, there's a lot that could go wrong with the combinations of beer, horses, and guns. Not saying it's a bad combination, but for an unexperienced city kid like myself, I feel the imminent threat of danger lurking on the wooded acres and my biggest question is "will 911 find this house?"

What I want you to take from this article is the general idea that a change of surroundings is good, but in moderation is when it can be fully enjoyed. I don't want anyone to read this and decide to pack up and buy a farm across the coast. Just take a chance and leave the city life behind for a couple of days, I promise you won't regret it (also, they sell beer pretty much EVERYWHERE here).