I went to a wedding up in Magnetawan (I know, godzundheit right?), Ontario over the weekend and it became glaringly obvious to me that I am not a city girl.
I don't mean to imply that I am a country girl and conjure this false image of cowboy boots, country music, farm life, and beer because those things aren't me either. What I mean is, that being out in a place where the nearest Walmart or strip mall is thirty minutes away, where is nature is all around you, is where I feel most at home.
My hometown is a place much like that and I think that's why I have such a love for it and calling to be back there as often as I can. It is also what may have inspired my great love for the small towns I visited when I last went to Europe. Small towns have such an intense, quiet energy. That may seem like an oxymoron but for me it's true. Small towns seem to be alive and in tune with the nature that surrounds them. Big cities, although full of hustle and bustle, noise and energy, lose the intensity. It is as though it is blurred out by all the bright lights and unending movement. Out in the country, it can be so soft and so quiet, you are afraid to breathe and disturb it.
As someone who loves to dream and to write and create, small towns are my bread and butter. In a small town, it is easy to imagine a murder shattering the idyllic setting, or a witch hiding in plain sight. Small towns can create epic romances in their small confines. Looking down from the stars, a narrator can see all that happens, unlike in the city where the people below become as lost as the stars are in all those bright lights.
This may seem like a pointless blog post and maybe it is. All I wanted out of it was to express my love for quiet places that breathe with you and inspire your dreams. Small towns don't stifle my dreams as they do for some. They encourage, strengthen, and ultimately allow them to take flight, while still providing a place to come home to.
