Urban vs. Rural

The eclipse tonight was absolutely beautiful. When I was very young I actually got to witness a solar eclipse, but I don’t remember a whole lot about it (except my dad trying to do the thing with the tiny hole in the shoe box). My sister called during the whole ordeal, and we were talking about how we felt so displaced from nature ever since we moved to the city. It’s strange how cranky I get (especially in the winter) when I can’t just go outside and do something.

Life seemed so much simpler back on the hobby farm my parents had. My brother, sister, and I would all sleep out on our big back porch under the stars at night simply because we could. Then again, the reason we started that was because we got in trouble one time… but that’s not the point. In the city, especially living in an apartment complex, you don’t get that same sort of distanced privacy you can if you live in what used to be a corn field less than ten years ago.

That’s not to say I dislike the city, of course. It definitely has its advantages. Living in the country means you only get to go to the store once a week (which makes it a big deal), and going to college would cost a whole lot of money. Not to mention there’s little to no possibility of living on your own unless you want to buy a few acres and plan on spending a good ten or twenty years there. In the city, rent is almost always done on a yearly basis (unless you’re buying a house). In the country, there’s simply nothing to rent. You buy or you move to the city or you inherit something from one of your relatives.

I don’t plan on living in the country for awhile, but I do hope it’s somewhere in my distant future. I’ve thought about taking a road trip out west (provided I can save the money) and camp everywhere along the way. That’d be nice.