I was born in a smaller city outside the larger city of Cincinnati. I grew up in a large suburb with other smaller cities surrounding me; I was never bored. Within five minutes of my house, there were multiple shopping complexes, and I had to choose between multiple locations for one store. I lived 25 minutes away from Cincinnati and 45 minutes from Dayton, so I was never far from experiencing the hustle and bustle of a large city. In contrast to all of this, I decided to attend a college in a small city, surrounded by villages and Amish country. While I am enjoying myself in school, there are some drawbacks to my decision.

First, the freshman class is the same amount as my high school graduating class. This is great because of the small class sizes, and it is nice to know the people I see around campus. On the contrary, sometimes I just want to walk down the street without running into to friends and acquaintances. Also, there is not a ton of diversity of people around campus. It is hard to make friends in other groups because many of the social circles overlap, which can get pretty boring.

Second, the lack of variety of restaurants and shops can get pretty frustrating. In my hometown, there were six different malls to choose from in a twenty mile radius. In Ashland, there is only one mall and it is thirty minutes away in Mansfield. Also, add in the fact that there is no Chipotle, Blaze, Panera Bread, or Whole Foods anywhere close, and I sometimes think I might go insane.

Third, since Ashland is so small, there is almost nothing to do over the weekend. The Campus Activities Board tries to have a lot of events for students, but it would be cool if there was more entertainment in the city itself. Going to a school this small requires everyone to use their imagination and to get used to lots of naps and Walmart trips on the weekends.

I know I sound like I am just complaining, but I do have fun at school. As I become more acclimated with the school, my opinions will almost definitely change. Part of being an adult means adjusting to different circumstances, and that is what I need to do here.