"Are you a city girl or a country girl?"

Simple enough question, right?

Not for me.

You see, I struggle because I fall somewhere in between. I grew up just twenty minutes from downtown St. Louis. I have fond memories of going to work with my dad, frolicking on the grass below the Gateway Arch, walking along the river, and going to Cardinal games. While some people have done these things too, they have never felt like anything super special to me. They have always just felt like another weekend day.

But there's a whole other side to me. My mom's family used to own a ton of land out in "the country," and though lots of it has been sold off through the decades, my uncle now owns a fair chunk of the original acreage. Even though it's not a working farm anymore, we still call it "the farm." I have fond memories here, too. Shooting guns, hiking through the woods, and riding four wheelers. Some members of my family are involved a lot in their county fair, and spend a great deal of time raising and showing cattle.

So how can I truly say whether I am a city girl or a country girl when I am just as comfortable walking along a bustling street in the city as I am out in the country at the county fair? Life is not always black and white, and when it comes to this, my life is 500 shades of gray. I cannot say where I would rather live or rather spend my time. I can find fun, adventure, and beauty in whichever setting. This summer, when I was on vacation in California, I had just as much fun navigating Hollywood as I did riding a horse up in the mountains of Goleta.

Friday night, I spun in speedy circles on a fair ride called "The Tornado" as rain poured from the heavens. The neon lights of the fair rides popped against the coal black sky and all I could think was how this felt familiar, how being at the district fair felt like home; and like a message popping up on an iPhone, I thought of how much I also felt so at home in the city, and even in suburbia. I felt so conflicted.

But why should I? I know that no one who asks the country versus city question ever means any harm, but it got me thinking about a simple answer that girls like myself to girls who are so confidently one or the other.

I realized that there isn't one. Us girls who are caught in between skyscrapers and barns are just interesting, versatile people. So, girls, do not go around thinking you have to fit one or the other. Embrace your different sides, and teach others to do the same. So, the next time you get that question, tell them that you are neither, and that is what makes you so perfect.