I attended a workshop this week at a small college in a small town, and I was suddenly overly grateful for my suburban roots. I don't mean this to sound snobbish by any means, but I just can't see myself enjoying life in a place like this.
Everybody knows everybody, and everybody knows everybody's business.
And I don't do so well with things that are completely run down and rustic. Coming from a suburb of Dallas, I'm used to certain things and a specific way of life, and it's weird to be amidst all these people who have never experienced that lifestyle. Things are so different. Sure, it's nice to have that laid-back way of doing things every now and then, but I suppose I've become too comfortable with a fast-paced, go-get-'em style.
Compared to many other cities in this world, my hometown is relatively small, but not like this. Yes, I appreciate the lyrics of John Mellencamp, but I don't plan to live and die in a small town. I can barely breathe.
I know my opinion might be different if I had grown up in a small town and experienced that lifestyle, but I doubt I would be the same person I am today. I can see how it would be easy to get into trouble as a teenager, as there really isn't too much else to do here. Plenty of great, wholesome people are products of small towns, but that desire of wanting to escape and go to bigger and better things and beat the monotony can make people do things they might not in other situations. Some of them get out of the small town life. Some of them stay forever. In talking to some of the locals, this can be both enjoyable and miserable.
No, I don't have anything against small towns or the people who live in them or are from them. I think my main point is simply that I'm glad I didn't grow up in a small town, and I'm very thankful for where I am now.
And I'm most thankful that I get to go home today!
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