In the next few days, most college students will be going home for winter break. For many of us, that means returning to our small towns that we have known most of our lives, and where we attended high school. My town, Northbridge, Massachusetts, is your average small town. Everyone knows everyone, and no one can really think that anything else exists outside their little bubble; a huge difference from New York City. Whenever I come back, knowing where I go to school, people always ask “How do you go from New York, one of the biggest cities in the world, to coming back and visiting Northbridge? It must be so boring.”
I don’t really have a concrete answer to that question. I’ve always had a bit of a different situation from my peers, growing up in a family of immigrants from Scotland, where my mom left home at 18 to move to America and travel the world. I was always going different places, and being told that it was important to travel the world and live in other places. I had even been to New York City multiple times before living there, since my grandparents always lived close to the city. As I got older and into high school, I quickly realized that most other people didn’t have experiences like this. When it came time to apply for college, most people applied to the New England area, and I noticed people that were older than me came home to live there after they finished school. I then thought to myself, no matter what happens, that cannot be me.
Growing up in a small town was often hard for me, because I always just felt so different. I wanted to do bigger and better things, I wanted an unconventional career and for my voice to be heard. I’ve never really been a person who cares about what people think, and people often looked at this as strange. I just think that there are bigger and better things to see in this world, and that opportunity should be taken.
There are some wonderful things about my small town though that I wouldn’t trade for the world. You have a community, and share something that no one else does. I am so lucky to have some of the most amazing and wonderful friends from high school, and I still talk to them today. I also had some great teachers, and leadership opportunities that came out of my hometown. Friday night football games and dances are something I’ll cherish forever. I do to some extent miss my hometown sometimes, and I especially did miss that nice “homey” feeling my freshman year.
People wonder why I try so hard, and why I want to do things differently. Why when I was applying to colleges I was so desperate to get out of state, and why now I am endlessly applying to jobs and internships here in the city. People still challenge my motives and decisions, even friends and family members. But what I always remember, and what people don’t realize is that I’m doing this for myself, not them. This is just who I am, and who I want to be.
Growing up in a small town taught me to do things for yourself, not what others want you to do or what’s “normal.” Always look forward, but never forget where you came from, and what made you the person you are today.