I wanted to leave my small town to be independent. But I've realized that needing other people isn't dependency, it's community. Being part of a community is realistic, useful and good. Unlike people in larger places, small-town residents know that when "somebody has to pay," that somebody is likely themselves.The above quote is from an essay written by Aubrey Streit, from a town called Tipton, Kansas - a town a lot like St. Vincent.
While I never wanted to leave as badly as Aubrey did, I ironically had to in the end. Her words speak for me, and to me, and I think they just might for you, too...
A small time is an extension of the family home. We feel, at some time, that we've outgrown it. Our sites rest on the horizon, and the town no longer seems able to contain us.
ReplyDeleteSmall towns are like the family, because sooner or later, when we've got over our cock-sure adventuring, we're going to realise just what it was about the place that we took for granted, and how much we miss it.
And it feels great to come home again.
That was deep for me. I must have eaten something odd.