Over and over again I heard, "I cannot wait to get out of this small town" or "You need to get out of this town, nothing good can happen for you here." I will admit I said these lines just as much as anyone else. Well let me just say I wished more than anything that I could get out of this town. I did not just want to leave the town I wanted to leave the state!
A few years before my senior year of high school, I went to Texas and fell in love with the people and the land. I have amazing family out there, and it is one of the most beautiful places I have been. From the time my foot hit the ground I wanted to stay forever. The best thing I could think of was to go to college in Texas just like my mother did, but out of state tuition was and is out of the question. With that setting in, I then realized that I did not want to leave my little town if I was not going to be moving out of the state. I have gone through two semesters now at GSW, and I can say it has been a very good first year for me. I have had better grades than I ever had in high school, and I am focused more than ever. I have some of the best friends anyone could ask for, even if two of them are in Statesboro at GSU, and an amazing supportive family. I do get to be more relaxed with the familiar surroundings of my home that I grew up in. I know what to expect, most of the time, in this town I call home.
For a person like myself, the known is comforting, and the unknown is very unsettling. I have alway wanted to be able to know what was going to be thrown at me, and staying in Americus I could predict the majority of things that would happen at GSW. I only say that because I have watched my older sister and others experience it. I saw what needed to be done and what did not need to be done. I have come to accept that Texas is a dream that will have to wait to become a reality until I am done with my small town college experience, because I couldn't be happier with my choice to stay in this small town.
This decision was a difficult one to make, but one that had to be made. I was upset at first, but I know now that this is the right decision for me. I am looking forward for the rest of my time in my small town college. So for those of you who have heard the constant "Get out of this town" lines, try to think about the positive outcomes of being in a familiar place that you call home.
