The thing about small towns, is you go along in your early years meeting people who love it and will never leave, or hate it and can't wait to turn 18 and run as far away as possible. I was neither.
Going to university a mere 45 minutes away kept me close enough to visit, but gave me enough of a change. Living in the city is definitely different than having a forest in my backyard.
These days, I am enjoying being a city girl. I love being 2 blocks from my grocery store. No car payments means a little more money in my pocket. I can go anywhere and do anything within a 10 km radius. At any time. Also the fact that there are no mosquitoes is kind of amazing.
But I come home often to visit my parents. Part of it is to see them, but another part of it is to wind down. City life is a little busier than life out here. You can get caught up in the movement and all of a sudden your head is spinning. Coming home gives me a chance to breathe, take a few minutes for myself and relax.
This is where I like to come and read. By the river. It's peaceful, beautiful and rejuvenating. I fall in love with my small hometown all over again in moments like these.
You never know where life is going to take you. In a year or two I may be hours away in an even bigger city. But I will know that a part of me will always belong to the countryside. A part of me will always call this place home. And who knows, maybe someday I will end up back here.
