Simply Livin'

Well, as some of you may or may not know I grew up in a very small town (smaller than some people’s high schools) in rural west-central Illinois. So, there is little doubt that it was a bit of a shock for me to go to a big college campus with almost 40,000 students from all over the country, and even greater, all over the world. A shock that I loved, and that I think has had a huge impact on the person that I am today. I’ll be honest and say that I thrived, and sometimes relied, on the fast paced atmosphere and the amped up social setting that I was surrounded by while at college.

During holidays or on weekends when I would go home I had a renewed appreciation for “The Simple Life” as I liked to call it. There wasn’t as much going on and I could really relax and wind-down from all of the excitement I had been engulfed in. Then, usually when it was time to go back I was ready to dive back in. Now, I have graduated and have moved to rural western Illinois about 2 hours North of where I grew up. I wouldn’t consider it quite as rural as my home area, but it still has a lot of the same qualities.

If we had a front porch, the view would be amazing. No, its not oceanfront, or even lakefront. The view is of farmsteads, crops, small towns, and timbers riddling with wildlife. I think when you first think of simple you probably are thinking of horse and buggy , no running water, slow pace, and wood stoves, but that’s not what I am meaning here. I simply mean (no pun intended) that there is greater appreciation for things. You feel an automatic connection to the people, no matter if they are your neighbors, or a stranger at the gas station. I have an advanced connection to nature and a renewed connection to agriculture.

Now, I will say that I am still adjusting to the slower social setting, while becoming more involved in the community and other organizations. I think that it will eventually morph into a mixture of the two extremes that I have had. I think that I have learned something from both situations and now appreciate the nuances. I have definitely generalized these two atmospheres a little too much, but for the purpose of this post it proves its point.

I am not here telling you that I am better off because I had the experience of growing up in a rural community, or that I have an leg up because I attended a large, diverse college campus; but they are definitely two things that have made me who I am. I am very proud of my work ethic, my ability to adapt to a wide range of challenges, and most of all my integrity, and I think that no matter what your background may be the important thing is that you are appreciative of it, and how it has made you who you are.

It took me who I was and where I’ve been to make me who I am.

- Author Unknown