Get out of your hometown, even if it isn't forever!

Get out of your hometown!!

Hypocritical of me to say right? I mean I live in the same county I grew up in, and there is a chance I will eventually move back to my hometown. With that in mind, how can I possibly tell people to leave their comfort zones? Well, it's easy actually. How? Because I have been there.

When I was graduating from high school and looking at college choices, I had a list of criteria that I wanted to meet. Of course, some of the main things were cost, major choice, and campus life, but to be honest, the most important factor for me was distance from my hometown. By that, I meant I wanted to put a big distance between me and that place.

Listen, I have nothing personally against the people of Claysburg, PA, but my problem was this: everyone was the same. If someone gave me a quote that someone from my hometown had said, I would never be able to tell which of the 300 people in the town had said it. There is a singular mindset in the 16625 that has not changed for decades, and the diversity level sits at about roughly 0.00001%. As a kid, you don't notice these things, but as you get older, you begin to realize that the world is bigger than just the 3 acres of small-town rural Trumplican land that you grew up in.

So, what did I do? I went to school by Pittsburgh, I met new people, and I learned that there are more opinions in the world than just the same one you hear everyday. I met people from all over not just the country, but also, the world. I learned a lot from people with both similar as well as differing mindsets, and even those who disagreed with me were capable of having a rationale conversation about why they think the way they think.

When I graduated, I knew I never wanted to leave. The idea of living in or near a city has always appealed to me, and Pittsburgh was a great stepping stone for if I ever wanted to move to a bigger place. I spent a few years living in Pittsburgh before my plans changed. I began dating my wife, and that dream was more important than my city dreams. So, what did I do? I moved back to the small-town rural.

Now, even though I live here, I clearly do not fit the mold of the people. I have always kept the same mindset and beliefs I had when I lived in the city, and I still treasure the experiences I had from being outside of this little box. If I had never left, I do not know who I would be as a person, but I know I would not be the person I am. The years I spent meeting new people and experiencing new things helped shape the person I am, and personally, I know I am all the better for it.

I firmly believe that we can never achieve our true potential or be the best version of ourselves if we never look beyond our own front doors. How can you really know what you are capable of if you never test those capabilities? How can you really claim to be informed if the only opinions you hear are all the same? I may be right back where I started physically, but I will never be back where I started mentally.

True growth occurs when you step out of your comfort zone so for your own sake, and the sake of this world, please leave. Get out of that town, and get away from those people. Even if you find your way back, you will have grown as an individual, and you will be a better person for it.