I grew up in Harleysville, Pennsylvania, which is 45 minutes outside of Philadelphia. The highlight of our town was the Green Lane Park and the numerous pizza shops (Laura's Pizzeria is the best, just saying). You could spend 20 minutes in our town and see everything there is to see. You'll see our neighborhoods, the elementary schools and the middle school, and you'll see a lot of people who are the same.

I now go to Shippensburg University, which is about 3 hours away. When I decided to come here, I thought I would be homesick a lot of the time and I would miss living in my town. However, after being here for almost 2 months, I have not once been homesick, and here's why.

I don't want you to think that I don't miss all my friends and my family, because I miss them every day. I talk to my parents every day and all my friends weekly. Even though I left that town behind, I would never leave the people I met there behind.

Here's the real reason I haven't felt homesick: there's nothing left for me in Harleysville. I've been all the places I could go about 20 times, I've met all the people I feel like I needed to and I've done all the things there are to do there. The world is so big and there's so many things and people and places I haven't seen yet. Being here at Shippensburg has taught me that and I'm so happy that I've left my small town.

Of course, I miss the little things like riding in the car to school every morning with my friend Emma, and going to the Energy Station (our diner in town) with Sophia and Chris, and going on Wawa runs with Bobby,Grace and Megan (God, I really miss Wawa). I miss eating dinner with my parents and I miss going to work on Tuesday's and Thursdays at Laura's Pizza (still the best pizza in Harleysville). I miss how there were beautiful sunsets and sunrises and how my cul-de-sac looked when it snowed. However, all those friends and those experiences are still baked into my mind, but I really don't need to be in Harleysville to have them again. I know these things were just temporary and they couldn't continue forever.

Technology has helped a lot, too. The fact that I can be in contact with all my friends and family without being next to them is great and has helped me to not be homesick at all.

The teenager I was then is not the person I am now. I am not worried about the things I used to be worried about, I'm not excited about the same things I used to be excited about, and I don't look at my life the same way. I'm a person with a lot of aspirations and a lot of love, and I don't think my town could've handled that. It's too small for me and I've done everything I had to there.

However, if you feel the same way but you're still in your town, don't rush out. Take some time to breathe there. Take in everything and meet every person you want to meet. Even though its small and there's not much, one day you'll miss being just steps from your friends and family. Don't take anything for granted there and appreciate everything you have in that place.

As much as I love my hometown and will be thankful for it, I don't need to live there anymore and I'm fine being a stranger to Harleysville.

If you think you're stuck in your hometown, don't be afraid to leave it. It's going to be scary as hell at first, but know it'll all be worth it. You'll be looking at a new sunrise and sunset every day and new people and new pizza shops (Big Richards is the best in Shippensburg), and you'll know that big step was totally worth it.