Growing up in the country, I've come to find that seeing turkeys and men in reflective orange vests hiking with rifles on the side of the road as a normal thing. My family's house has a backyard of 100 acres of state forest and farm fields, and the closest neighbors are the ones right next door and a mile down the road. As much as I'd hate to admit it, I'm part country girl, and there are certain things about the country that I do enjoy.

This year, I started my first semester at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI. I moved from a small quiet town to a large busy city. My pre-assumptions of the city were influenced by the local news growing up; cities were dangerous, segregated places with angry people. In order for these assumptions to have originated, they had to partially true. Same with how most believe that people from the country all have barn animals, when in reality only 40% from where I'm from do.

I was pleasantly surprised by the amazing community on my college campus and the hidden gems within the city. It was an entirely new world for me that I was ready to explore.

Living in the Country

Ottawa Lake Park - Claire Laurel

Waking up at my family's house is like waking up in Jurassic park. Not only do our neighbors down the road have a peacock, but there are at least five unseen birds and bugs that sound off in the morning. They sound like prehistoric beasts, and even after five years at this house, I still am not used to it. It's the coolest - and freakiest - thing ever.

The town near my family's house is a village with a population under four-thousand. The only real traffic we get are from bikers on the glacial trail that goes right across main street. We often receive visitors from Madison and Milwaukee, but other than that, only regulars who live nearby visit downtown. Our most busy time of year is during our annual festival which includes a frog jumping contest. I've never actually won but I do enjoy the booths of food.

Ottawa Lake Park - Claire Laurel

Jefferson County - Pixabay

The calmness of the country is what most assume that the country is like (other than it being farmland). We see a lot of geese, ducks, squirrels, deer and many other woodland animals. Depending on where you live in Wisconsin, you might even see a bear. That wouldn't make you lucky though.

Once while visiting family in California, I was confronted by a woman who worked with my Uncle. She asked what is was like to live in Wisconsin and if it was as beautiful as what she had heard. I replied with "Yeah, the country is pretty from time to time, but we are behind." When I said behind, I meant Wisconsin receives fashion and technological trends a bit later. Like Ugg boots here weren't popular until three months after they had made there way through the West-coast. This woman took my response as "So you don't have telephones?"

Home - Claire Laurel

No. We aren't amish. Well, not all of us. The country has many people who just want to disappear, or are retired. Many have hidden pasts, making the diversity of the country-side not as prominent as the city. But we are people and we know who Kim Kardashian is. We have a large population of youth. We deal with family issues and financial issues. Unfortunately, just because we aren't smack dab in the center of the city, doesn't mean that we don't struggle with the same things. Our landscape is just different, and if your car ends up on the side of the road it will probably take hours before someone comes to tow you out (perks of living out in the middle of nowhere). We also have great coffee shops. And car shows. And random town festivals. And great walking trails.

My Mom's Chicken - Claire Laurel

Kettle Moraine High School - Claire Laurel

Lapham Peak State Park - Claire Laurel

Living in the City

Third Ward, Milwaukee - Claire Laurel

As I started my first semester at Marquette University, I found myself living in the dorms on campus. It was a refreshing new experience. The college campus is open to the rest of the city, however in order to fully experience Milwaukee in it's finest, you need to get off campus. I did some exploring my first semester and started to understand the landscape of the city a lot better, but I have still much more to learn.

MSOE Campus - Claire Laurel

The city is a place where surprisingly, not many people have cars. Back at my high school, most students could drive at 16 and had their own cars. Here in the city, you are lucky to have a car, let alone a place to park it. Parking on the street isn't always the safest either. It can be riddled with opportunities for a passerby to smash a window and break in. It happened to my coworker who lives in the city. It's happened to my friend's brother with a bike. They took every part of the bike but the wheel that was strapped to the median. There is risk when leaving your possessions. There are more people than in the country bumping the risk up.

City Restaurant - Pixabay

The city has every kind of scene there is, varying in size depending on the city. In Milwaukee, the night life consists of going out and getting a good beer and listening to some great alternative music. We have several talented musicians, artists, and writers. Milwaukee is a creative and historic city.

In summer, both in the country and the city, you will see several groups taking joy rides in old cars and motorcycles. More so motorcycles in the city because of the Harley Davidson museum being almost center of Milwaukee.

Harley Davidson Museum - Claire Laurel

Milwaukee on Lake Michigan - Pixabay

Milwaukee is teeming with all ethnicities, however still segregated, much like other cities both large and small. Opportunity can be hard because there is competition for jobs and for placement in colleges within the city. It's challenging however I know several Marquette students who are hardworking and are starting to make their mark on the city through an education at a well named University.

Milwaukee is the center of a large population of radical youth who care about each other. The city isn't a place of people who think only of themselves; a lot of times I catch random acts of kindness more than I do in the country. They care about each other, and they want to get through this together.

I love both the city and the country. There are differences but also similarities. Both are beautiful places, and can be a great place to live. They both have their risks but the people are the same. We are all human. I can't wait to continue my adventure at Marquette University and in Milwaukee Wisconsin.