What's So Wrong With Here?

Many years ago, I was working as a pharmacy technician in a small town in Oklahoma. I hadn't lived here long, and I still had dreams of moving west to Seattle or Portland or somewhere in Northern California. Basically, anywhere except Oklahoma.

The pharmacist's son was also a relatively new transplant to Oklahoma. He wasn't a fan, either. 

One afternoon, he and I were talking about how we couldn't wait to move "anywhere other than here." Our highschool-aged coworker overheard us and asked:

"What's so wrong with here?"

We were shocked. "Have you ever been anywhere else?" he asked.

"No," she replied. "Well, I mean, I've been places on vacation, and that's fun, but it's always nice to come home. I like it here."

She went to help a customer, and my friend and I just shook our heads. Our coworker was obviously too young to know any better. Or maybe she just didn't aspire to much. Either way, there were much better places than Oklahoma, and we each planned to move there someday. 

I don't know where the pharmacist's son ended up - we lost touch years ago - but I'm coming up on my 23rd year of living in Oklahoma. I've lived here longer than I've lived anywhere else. My kids were all born here, and my 20-year-old doesn't remember ever living in a different house than the one where we currently live.

In the past 23 years, I've had the opportunity to travel to different parts of the country. Our family enjoys road trips - well, my husband and I enjoy them. The kids tolerate them - and I travel about once a month for work. I love getting away from home, and whenever I'm home "too long" I start getting anxious to travel again.

From time to time, I toy with the idea of moving back to Tennessee, or maybe somewhere close to an ocean. These times usually coincide with winter - when everything in Oklahoma is gray and brown and we can literally go weeks without seeing the sun - and summer - when stepping outside feels like stepping into a commercial-grade clothes dryer.

Occasionally I ask myself, "Do I love Oklahoma?" I don't think I do. But as I experience different parts of the country through travel, I realize Oklahoma has its beauty. 

The area where I live has cultural diversity that is shockingly missing from some areas of the country most people think of as more progressive. 

We have a decent arts scene, and there is plenty to do regardless of whether you are the outdoorsy type (I'm not) or someone who would rather see a play and then go out for a nice dinner (easy enough to do as long as it's not too late on a weeknight.)

I thought my coworker all those years ago was too young to know there were better places to live. I even thought maybe she wasn't quite ready to think about leaving home yet. After all, she was only 16, and not everyone was ready to get on with life at 16 like I was. Surely, with time, she would see the light and decide there were better places to live than Oklahoma. Maybe she did.

But now, I think back to that conversation, and I ask myself, "What's so wrong with here?"

And I have to answer, "Absolutely nothing."

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