Cornfields, alien abductions, haystacks and cows ... what exactly does the middle of nowhere have to offer? I never understood the appeal of a rural area, especially for college. When college has so much to offer, why would you want to spend the best four (or five) years of your life confined in a small town? As fate would have it, I ended up in the middle of cornfields and haystacks at Ohio University. Those who share their college experience surrounded by farms just miles from their university can relate to a couple of things.

1. You forget people actually live in your college town.
Going to school in the middle of nowhere usually means that the school itself is what brings people. This being said, anyone over the age of 30 usually gets a second look (if they aren’t a professor) until you remember some people who aren’t OU students actually do live in Athens. Most likely, townies were OU grads that couldn’t bear to leave Athens. Who can blame them?

2. Online shopping is becoming a problem

It’s nice to think that because there are limited places to shop that the addiction will subside, but this is not the case by any means. Instead, online shopping takes place of traditional shopping. The shipping is a small price to pay to look fabulous, or so I tell myself.

3. The drive to school is extremely boring.
On the right there’s a cornfield and on the left ... there’s a cornfield. Thanks a lot, Ohio.

4. Your city is a road.

Court street is home to around a dozen bars, numerous restaurants and a large number of bookstores proudly selling OU apparel. It’s also the closest thing to a city you’ll get. You don’t care that there’s nowhere else to go, you wouldn’t want to spend your weekends (OK and maybe a few week days) anywhere else.

5. No one knows where your school is.
“It’s like an hour from Columbus.”

6. You don’t regret a single minute of it.

Going to school in the middle of nowhere means you’re deprived of a couple of things. Although it looks boring from the outside, you know first hand that nothing compares. You’re only in college for so long and there’s no better way to spend those four (or five) years in a town centered solely on the college. Going to OU meant giving up an extreme shopping addiction and settling for a small town hidden behind huge hills and farmhouses. However, going to OU also meant finding my best friends, my sisters and a home in a college. And because of that, I wouldn’t change a second of it.