Where am I?

Where I am

Aurora. Hamilton County. Nebraska. Midwest. United States. North America. Earth. That is my geographical location.

But the location is different than what makes up the location. I am where corn surrounds every country road. I am where 4,000 more people are. I am where everyone knows everyone and everything. I am where football games are a big deal. I am where the definition of a small town was born. I am where summers are spent at the lake and bonfires light up the night sky. I am where the stars are easy to see. I am where the weather has a mind of its own. I am where the good life is. I am in Aurora, Nebraska.

Although I live in a small town of Aurora, I spent my childhood in a much bigger place. I was born in Moscow, Russia. And Moscow is far from small, in fact it is larger than New York City just to give you some perspective. In Moscow I remember the biggest zoo ever, twice the size of the San Diego Zoo. I remember going there a lot, but one time in particular sticks out. It started out as a great day at the zoo, that is until I got separated from my mom and my brother. I learned a valuable lesson that day, if you are lost stay in one spot till found. Also in Moscow the culture is way different, people are more into arts and entertainment. For instance I remember during spring there would be dozens of artists with their canvases on the sidewalk and when people would walk by or stop and rest the artists would quickly draw them and then just give them the pictures, although some sold the drawings. One time an artist drew a picture of me as a tiger, I still have the picture, it was really cool.  I grew up around dozens and dozens of beautiful fountains, practically one on every street. I grew up around subway stations and trollies. I grew up seeing the beautiful old churches everyday as I went to gymnastics. Although I am in Aurora, in my heart I am still in Moscow.

Even though Aurora is a small town, I am glad that I live here. There is just some things that you can't experience in big cities. For instance you can go to the lake practically everyday in the summer. You can see the stars perfectly. You know everyone for the most part. And life pace is a lot slower, letting you take in more and relax. I love that about small towns but I think I am more of a big city person. I absolutely love the atmosphere. The rush of the people, and cars, and news. I love how there is always someone new to meet and not everyone knows you. This is why I want to move to a big city when I am done with college. I am thinking Seattle, Washington. Overall though I am lucky to be exposed to both the big city and the small town. I love both. It's like seeing both sides of the world and finding great things about both that you love. I am glad I am one of the few people that can experience both small and big. Because most people live all their lives in either a small town or a big city and are subjective to one or the other but never really get to appreciate both.