Dear Hometown,
I had recently been talking about how much I missed you to all my new friends. The city has been great, but I missed your easy-to-navigate small town feel. I missed how easy it was to get from my house to my high school. I even missed my high school slightly (I put emphasis on the word “slightly,” of course). But most importantly, I missed the people.
So I hopped on the 1 Train and made my way to the Megabus station next to the Javits Center. Navigating the subway all by myself wasn’t as bad as I thought, although my New York friends would probably joke about how much of a “rookie” I am. I’ll take pride in the title, considering this rookie made it from my class in Leo that ended at 12:15 to the new 34th Street-Hudson Yards station by 1:15, making my bus that left at 1:30 with minutes to spare. I excitedly texted my parents that I made it alive and that now I’m essentially a pro at all things Megabus.
My mom picked me up from the Baltimore bus stop where she had Chick-Fil-A waiting for me (I was going through serious Chick-Fil-A withdrawl, considering at home it was down the street from my house and in NYC, the nearest one is an hour or so subway ride away). My heartbeat raced as I started seeing familiar landmarks that I didn’t think I would get emotional over: there’s the Texas Roadhouse that I went to eat at with my best friend to celebrate graduating; there’s the car dealership that I got my first car from; there’s the repair shop I went to after I got rear-ended; down that road is where I went to get my dog from the rescue shelter, etc. Then before I knew it, we were getting to the exit that would take me to my mom’s house and my heart started racing.
I had planned this trip almost a month in advance because I wanted to see my old high school cheerleading team compete and the timing worked out so nicely that both of my younger brothers were having their birthday parties that weekend, too. It was a weekend full of surprises that I was eager to perform, ranging from some of my best friends to my grandparents and brothers. Every single one of their reactions were excellent and of course, the hugs were the best part (also, my grandmother cried tears of joy, which was adorable).
Then, after getting over my fear of not being able to remember how to drive, I was able to roam freely around town. Nothing had changed, really. I was expecting to feel like a stranger but it honestly felt as if I had never left. It felt like I was still just a high schooler singing along to my music in the car but personally, everything had changed. I was in college, practically living in New York City and now I was returning home. Everyone had been telling me it was going to feel weird, going home for the first time, and they were right.
It wasn’t until I was out to eat with one of my really good friends that we both came to the conclusion: there is absolutely nothing to do in our small town in the suburbs of Maryland. Don’t take it personally, hometown, I really do love you. But having been spoiled for the past two months in one of the greatest cities on Earth, you seemed almost bland in comparison.
Yet I could never discredit you, hometown. Going back to my high school was a surreal experience and I was grateful for everything throughout those four years that allowed me to make my dreams come true and come to NYC. I even got to see my favorite teacher and tell him all of the things I’m working on and he was excited for me.
I was told so many times by people from my church how good I looked and that they had been thinking about me. I was able to tell them stories of all the cool things I’ve gotten into while in the city. A lot of people also told me they’ve been reading my posts (and thank you! It’s always cool to hear that people are actually reading things and actually enjoying them).
So hometown, don’t be sad when I compare you to NYC or when I think you’re boring. Maybe one day I’ll have the small-town girl turned successful NYC girl story and I’ll be able to credit you for my “big start.” Thank you for the opportunities and the people and the places I will always love.
I’ll be back soon!
Taylor