Small Town Mentality

I love living in a small town, and I am definitely planning to live in the area later in life, but there are some aspects of living here that I sometimes feel held back by. Even though this is absolutely the one of the best places to raise a family and go to school, etc., I think that sometimes it is hard to imagine myself doing anything unique from here. I do believe that you can go anywhere from a rural state because there are numerous examples of people who have had amazing success at pretty much everything from here, but sometimes I feel like I have to adjust my goals according to what everyone will think of them. I don't want to say that there are a lot of judgmental people, but I don't feel like I could ever go out and say that I was going to go to Harvard, be a professional dancer, or be a famous actress, or whatever other farfetched goals I might have. Although some things are unlikely, it doesn't mean we have to rule them out or settle for something below our expectations or potential. I think this applies to all of us. We could do anything we want and I hate to think that we would give up just because not many aspire to such things or because we are pressured to stay in a rural state. Like I said, I love it here. It is beautiful and the people are friendly. We have good values and, of course, take part in lots of fun activities. I just hope that people realize what they are capable of. I worry that we aren't exposed to anything other than what we already know. Where we live should not affect our goals, and no one should be embarassed to tell people their aspirations. Just because they aren't likely does not mean that they are impossible.