Growing up in a small town gave me the biggest dreams

I have a confession: I grew up in a small town. Making up a teeny 2.5 square miles of land, the technically-titled “City” of Algoma, Wisconsin (population 3,167), was far from my dream residence growing up.

I was elected as “Poppy Princess” one year for the annual Shanty Day’s parade

For most of my childhood, I felt almost suffocated by the lack of space, people and opportunities. For elementary  through eighth grade, I went to a small, private school in which I graduated with seven other students in my class. My public high school only offered Spanish as a foreign language class to be taught in-person, I had a choice of five AP classes senior year and there was no school newspaper.

This sign is the first thing that visitors see when they enter Algoma. It’s always been the last thing I wanted to see

Everyone in my class had grown up together and knew every personal detail about each other’s lives. There was no real sense of privacy and the thought of becoming different or changing some part of your personality was impossible when everyone still remembered every embarrassing moment of your childhood.

My sister, Kayla (left), Rachael (middle), and me (right) at Christmas in 2015

Although I loved my close friends, parents and two older sisters and enjoyed my time with them, I never seemed to be able to shake this desire to leave.

My childhood friend Alexis (left) and myself (right) at the local playground.

Instead, I began to dream about all of the places I’d rather be and all of the things I wanted to do with my life. New York, Paris and Florence were a few on the top of my list of places I wanted to go, and becoming a highly acclaimed writer or journalist became my ultimate goal.

Of course, those were just dreams. At the time, none of it could become a reality. I didn’t have the resources, the money or the time to do so. Really, it wasn’t until I came to the University of Wisconsin that all of these dreams began to seem more possible.

The view of my class’ welcome to campus at the Kohl Center, Fall 2014

While Madison is still not at the scope I want (the city has around 245,000 people), the opportunities the university provides, such as a highly-celebrated journalism school and access to career services, scholarships and a large array of class selections, made me feel stronger and more confident in reaching for the seemingly impossible.

Because of all of this, I will be spending the summer in New York (a city with approximately 8.5 million people), and will finally experience something I’ve wanted since I was a little girl. For me, this is the first step toward the life that I want to lead out there in the real world.

A Milwaukee “fun day” with the office of Representative Brostoff, whom I intern for currently

While I am beyond excited for this opportunity, some part of me is still torn by the ultimate path I’ve chosen. By leaving Algoma and Wisconsin behind, I will be leaving my family, including my two nieces and nephew, behind as well. For someone who is unbelievably close to her sisters, I can’t fully imagine not being able to spend as much time with them as I currently do. Honestly, this part of leaving is something I still haven’t fully come to terms with.

Although I know with 100 percent confidence I will not be living in a small town after graduation, I will acknowledge my childhood in Algoma wasn’t all bad. Looking back, I think it was my lack of chances there that gave me the motivation and desire to pursue the very big goals I have for my life. Every time I heard ‘no’ growing up, it just made me want everything so much more.

Living that small town lifestyle forced me to excel in my academics and in my work, and eventually led me to reach the point I am at right now in this moment.