Recently, I wrote an article that incorporated reasons of why I moved out of Manchester, TN. The attention and feedback that I received from the aforementioned article was indeed a full spectrum that spanned from love and praise to absolute hatred and disgust. I’m here to address the individuals who thought the latter. I am not here to apologize for what I said because it is the truth, I’m here to defend myself as I set the record straight.

First and foremost, my hometown article was not meant in such a way that I found Manchester, TN as the most terrible place on Earth. I love Manchester because of the fact I grew up there, and lived in it for more than 18 years. I gave my life to scholarship and academics, the community, and cheerleading career. I do not wish to have lived my childhood and adolescence in any other place or any other way. In fact, I’m currently writing this article in my grandparents’ dining room, eating a southern home-cooked meal - in none other than Manchester, TN. Some habits die hard.

Unfortunately, the “small” hometown feel, believe it or not, doesn’t just apply to Manchester. It applies to literally thousands of individuals from all across the country. I happen to attend Belmont University, where the state of Tennessee isn’t the most predominant location in which the students live before attending Belmont. I think I know more Texans and Californians than I actually do Tennesseeans. This article’s target audience was for the individuals who felt the same way about escaping their hometowns, considering the fact that we have now left for college. This article was not meant for the individuals who still live (and enjoy) Manchester, TN. I write for the Odyssey Online at Belmont University. I do not write for the Odyssey Online at Manchester, TN.

I understand that everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, and I respect that. Therefore, I thought for a split second that I would receive the same respect in return for my opinion. The twitter bashing that I experienced goes hand in hand with my previous bullet point of why I moved away – there’s no time for petty drama. If you think that your golden years were your high school years, then please by all means, think that. I just personally feel that my golden years are just now occurring during my post-secondary education, in which I wouldn’t be able to receive the same experience and degree inside Manchester.

Lastly, my article was not a personal bash to the individuals who want to live and raise a family in Manchester. My hometown is a wonderful place to raise future generations, as we are a part of a very close-knit community that helps out one another in times of need and distress. You can expect the same people in the church pews to be sitting at the bleachers during high school sports’ games. We are One Coffee, and I will always be a Red Raider at heart.

Again, my moving away from my hometown article was not to hurt feelings or betray my hometown, it was an appreciation for it, in which I didn’t see fit at the time before I moved away for college. There are plenty of new experiences and journeys to take outside of the city limits and county lines that I wish all of you, my hometown readers, could partake in. Everyone gets so excited to go to the beach during summer vacation, but what if I told you that being away for one week could expand to a study abroad for a semester? What if I told you that I have expanded my repertoire of best friends, some from Manchester and some not even from the state of Tennessee? There are bigger and better things out there to witness than just riding back roads (which by the way, I still like to do while jamming to old country songs).