Growing up in a small rural town has taught me a lot about myself. An hour outside of Boston, Massachusetts in a small town called Ware, I have spent the last 8 or so years wondering when I would be able to leave.

There is not much that fills Ware, nor surrounds it. It is a very isolated place, with little opportunity, making it easy to feel closed off from the world. With there being only Walmart (which I was employed at) and countless pizza joints, there is little to nothing to do in your free time. Over the years the town has become drug-infested, and more and more buildings have become condemned. The small majority of the towns’ upper class wanted nothing to do with fixing it. I felt as though each year I spent living there it was more depressing and my list of reasons for wanting to leave grew.

As the end of my high school career approached, I knew that my time in Ware grew less. When I received my acceptance from the University of Georgia in March of this year, I knew my life was going to change for the better. Although I was saddened to leave the people I love, I knew I would be unable to write my success story in that one horse town. As I reflect on my time spent in my hometown, I am thankful. It has taught me my values and showed me what I wanted my life not to be, motivating me to be successful. So, I think of this brief biography as the preface to my success story, making it just the beginning of something I hope to be great.