Well, I was born in a small town. Oh, those small communities. Saying that my hometown was small was an understatement. It was literally called a village because there were so few people compared to the city. To the outsiders, our way of life seemed strange.

There was a single stoplight in our town, which turned into a blinking light at a certain point of the night. Traffic was not an issue, unless it was the annual Tractor Day at school. It wasn't until I came to college that I found out that no other schools drove tractors to school and posted pictures of them in the yearbook. Apparently the Future Farmers of America isn't a thing in most schools either.

My graduating class had less than one hundred students, so just imagine how small our entire school was. It was not uncommon to know practically everyone attending because you would see everyone in the same one-story building everyday. Hearing that some people had hundreds of kids just in their graduating class is hard for me to even comprehend.

Camouflage and hunting made you a cool kid in a small town. In fact, the first day of deer hunting made the school empty. If you hunted AND drove a truck, forget about it.

Growing up in the country was a great experience, but it made me realize just how not for me it was. Living in the middle of nowhere with one grocery store and almost an hour drive to any major city wasn't the greatest in my opinion. Moving away to a university in the city was by far the best choice I could ever make.

The usual trend in my town was to start dating someone in high school, get married, have kids, and raise them in that same small town. The cycle forever continued with a lot of people not pushing themselves to achieve greater than their parents. There is nothing wrong with that lifestyle, but I needed to get out and do bigger and better things. I did not want to be "stuck" in that secluded dome from the outside world.

When I started college, I began to experience a completely different way of life, and I loved every second of it. My hometown was predominantly white people, so it was amazing to finally be in a diverse community. Additionally, it was nice to be in an open-minded environment on various societal issues.

Being away from home has taught me incredible things that staying in my hometown could not have done for me. I learned valuable leadership skills and made incredible connections for my future career. College has made me realize just how much potential I truly have and has motivated me to pursue bigger and better things. Sure, it was terrifying to not know anyone and to go in blind for every obstacle, but it has made me grow so much as a person. Remember to change your opinions, keep to your principles, change your leaves, but always keep intact to your roots.