I didn't intentionally choose living in the city over living on a farm. I suppose the first step was choosing to go to college. Not just any college but one that required me to move away from home. I could have stayed and attended the local community college approximately 10 minutes from my house, or the well known and well respected university in Birmingham (about a 45 minute commute at the time). Many of my classmates made that choice but I always knew I wouldn't follow them. It wasn't necessarily out of rebellion but out of a sense of wanting more. I knew if I stayed I wouldn't be able to grow. I graduated with a class of approximately 130 people, most of whom I had started kindergarten with. There was rarely a "new kid" at school and even when we merged for high school it was rare to meet someone I truly did not know or know of. We may not have been in class together Monday-Friday but chances are we went to church together, or had been on a recreational sports team together at some point in our youth. There were no strangers. I am not someone who hated high school, for the most part I look back on it fondly and still keep in contact with my core friend group. There was just something in my soul that told me that my path was not there.
So I moved to Montgomery, our state capital, as a Freshman in college and I never left. The campus was still small enough that I wasn't overwhelmed with my new environment but knew it was bursting with possibilities. It was exhilarating and from day one I knew I had made the right choice. When you've known someone since the age of 5 it's hard to accept them for anything other than what you've known them as for the last 13 years. You almost aren't allowed to change, or if you do you aren't accepted. I don't mean to say that I became a totally different person just because I moved away from my hometown, because that wouldn't be true. But it does give you a freedom that you probably haven't felt for a long time, if ever. Within the first month of my Freshman year I became an SGA senator for my class, something I would have never even considered running for in high school. I was too reserved for that. By my senior year of college I was on the SGA executive board, had served in multiple offices for my social club, was a student ambassador for the university, and helped found a new student organization. I was always capable of doing those things but moving away from home emboldened me to really reach for them. I earned my bachelors degree and then went on to get a masters.
I can honestly say my life looks completely different than it ever did on the farm. My life has taken twists and turns and not all of them were for the better but they did mold me into who I am today, and for that I am grateful. The accomplishments I have made are things I didn't even dream about before. If you, like me, feel the call to reach for something more don't ignore it. Don't follow the crowd just because it's easier. There's a whole world out there just waiting for you to jump in and explore it.
Besides, who says you can't go home?
