Leave your Hometown. Or don't.

    Growing up in Southeast Iowa is something that I've always valued about myself. Fairfield, Iowa. The town full of corn, four restaurants, one coffee shop, and you spend 2 hours at the grocery store just to get a gallon of milk. It's a town where you get into your car and you better have those two fingers on the top of the steering wheel ready to do that classic midwestern wave and if you know what I'm talking about... you know. I still run through the same route, playlists, smells, sights, and more importantly, faces. These memories are so sweet and precious to me. 

    I knew I needed to leave my hometown when I went to College only two hours away. My mother and Step Father had moved all my belongings into my dorm room after college move in day. I said goodbye, hugged them both and shut the door. I remember my back sliding down the door and eventually on to the ground, and I began to cry. I cried, but I only cried for about 3 minutes, grabbed my things and left immediately to meet new people. I went home the first weekend of College, but not because I wanted to. I did it because every other freshman went home, not because I truly desired to go back. Now don't get me wrong I love all of my people from back home, I could just feel in my heart that the energy I used to feel was not there anymore. I went home a total of 8 times that year.

Home is not a place, it's a feeling. 

    Listen, if you are still in the hometown you grew up in and you are HAPPY. BE HAPPY. If you feel like everything that you could possibly want in your life is right in front of you, stay. I see a lot of my High School friends starting beautiful lives, and I couldn't be more happy for them. 

    However, if you're feeling like something is missing or your life could be better please.. I mean please leave. The world is big and has so many people, places, and experiences that you could possibly benefit from. Remember, your hometown will always be there as your forever back up and something that will remain familiar to you for the rest of your life. 

    In conclusion, you're the author of your own story. You know deep down, I mean really deep down if you're happy or not. So, leave your hometown... or don't. People will always judge, so do what makes you truly happy.