Dreaming of Big Cities

I have lived in this small town in North Carolina since I was born. I don’t know what it is like to live in a big city; I have imagined it to be kind of scary. Last year I traveled to New York, which is the largest place I have been in my entire life. I was in culture shock. People were not that friendly, traffic was horrific, and everything was so fast-paced. You couldn’t even sit down at a table to eat in a lot of restaurants. I was not in “Kansas” anymore.

One thing that I noticed while being in this bigger city was that no one knew me. I didn’t walk into a store in New York City and hear someone say, “Hey girl, how have you been?” People just walked past me like they didn’t even care to know who I was or where I came from; I liked that. Living in a small town is not that fun. The movies portray it to be so magical and warm and fuzzy, but it’s a lot of drama.

You cannot go to Walmart or any Dollar General without at least five people knowing you, and if you walk in any beauty shop in town, you can hear as much of the town gossip as you would like. People know Every. Single. Thing. , about you and your entire family. Even the stuff you have barely talked about; They’ll know that too.

I loved the fact that in New York City, no one knew who I was, who my parents were, what school I went to, who I was married to and then divorced, who I’m married to now, how much debt I have-okay, I’m sure you get the point. I’m just saying it isn’t that great being the talk of the town. I would love to go somewhere where people don’t know who I am.

As crazy as New York was, I loved every minute that I was in that city. Maybe one day, this small-town girl will put her brave pants on and travel the world. Until then, I’ll aim to be the star of old, Small Town Friendly.