Give my regards to Broadway... because I really miss it. I just got back from my first trip to NYC, and it will not be my last. I felt at home amidst the skyscrapers, the crowds and the fashions.

I knew before I left that I would love it, but I did not realize exactly how much. My parents finally accepted my affinity for big cities, so before I left, my dad gave me one piece of advice, “Don’t forget where you came from.” I didn’t really think too much of it until I went to the Big Apple.

New Yorkers know only two states, their own and California. The Midwest is not even on their radar. Their first question after finding out I was from Kansas was always “Do you live on a farm?” or “Do you know how to milk cows?”

Every time I answered no their faces fell in disappointment.

Then I understood what my dad was talking about. It would have been so much easier to just say I was from the city, that’s what most people thought anyways.

Yes, Kansas is boring and after experiencing a fast paced city like New York I would never want to settle in a small town like McPherson, but at the same time I am so happy that this is where I grew up. I’m thankful to have that Midwestern sensibility and the general belief that people really are good.

One thing that I really missed about Kansas was the fact that here, everyone says hi, everyone asks how your day was, and there was always a smile being passed.I smiled at everyone I made eye contact with, yet no one smiled back.



But after several weird looks on the subway and glares on the streets I realized that the acts of kindness and friendliness that we have in Kansas do not extend into the East.



It blew my mind to think that these eight million people living in such tight quarters don’t even speak to each other. They don’t know who they’re sitting by on the subway or their neighbor's name.

I’m not so naive that I think everyone should be best friends with each other, especially in a large city. I know there will always be jerks and creeps out there that will take advantage of good people.

But I’m proud to be from Kansas and I’m proud of the values and morals I have because of that.

I know that I’m going to have to become a little more hard-nosed and city savvy to survive in a town bigger than McPherson, but I refuse to give up my Midwestern charm as a result.

I’m excited to leave behind the small town politics that everyone has grown accustomed to. Cities are so much more open minded and accepting of those who are different.

Even though they are large and somewhat unwelcoming, everyone seems to find their niche in cities. I’ll have to be a little more guarded and a little less trusting, but I’m not going to let the crime rates and horror stories scare me. After all, Dorothy survived in the big city of Oz, and I have much cuter shoes than she had.