Let's return our hometown!

Once in a scholarship interview, I was asked why they should choose me, a small town girl with little experience in the real world. My answer?

“Your money will stay here. I may be going off to college, but I want to come back here and help the community that helped raised me.”

As an eighteen year old with the world in front of her, this is an odd answer, especially to my classmates who hope to never return to their hometown. Whenever I ask, I’m always greeted with the same answers.

“It’s boring here”

“There’s nothing here”

“I hate this place”

“I want to live in an exciting/rich/exotic place”

And other similar answers.

Here are four reasons why you shouldn’t completely abandon your hometown.

1. Your first community
   Your hometown will always be the first community that you will know.While you may find others that may be more exciting it will never be the first one that welcomed you from birth and watched you grow into the person you are today. Even if you moved from your hometown, It will always be your first home.

1. Unique experiences
   While some may have some negative experiences in their hometown, there is hopefully some good. Such as backroads that only you know, your favorite diner that has the best pie, Friday Night Football, or even a few wacky festivals. Even if you may not have these experiences, you can always look back at where you came from and how far you’ve grown.

1. Friendships and Family
   While this goes hand and hand with your community, you may have left someone special behind. From grandparents to your elementary best friend, it is always good to catch up with others and realize that while you may go weeks, months, or even years apart some people will be there to welcome you back home with a hug and a few thousand questions.

1. Give Back
   Often times in small towns, teenagers and young adults hate where they live due to the economic situation or how a majority of a town may think or act. However, if you contribute your talents to your hometown you may very well change it. You may decide to open a business, giving jobs to people who need them that can change the outlook of families where you were from, or you may simply offer your time to kids who look up to you. Even your kindness and support can change the perspectives of those living in your hometown.

Many of you may want to leave and never look back, but sometimes it’s good to come back home.