
"I feel no shame I'm proud of where I came from I was born and raised in the boondocks. It's where I learned about living, it's where I learned about love. It's where I learned about working hard... It's where I learned about Jesus and knowing where I stand, you can take it or leave it. This is ME. This is who I am."
I've been wanting to do this post for a while now. Really ever since I heard the song "Boondocks" by Little Big Town. Now, I'm NOT a frequent listener of country music but I did come across this tune and I feel like it sort of sums up my life in a way. Let me first say, I WAS NOT raised in the "bookdocks" by ANY stretch. But I was raised in a small, southern town. And I loved it. Every minute.
I am so glad that I've had the opportunity to live in some different places. It's not as though I've lived from Hong Kong to Melbourne or anything, however the places I've been priveledged to call home have been vastly different. Do you think it's possible to change your lifestyle and still not change the core of who you are? I hope it is.
Right now I live in Dallas, TX and while we have our fair share of big city glitz, we also have a lot of great people too. I like it here. I really like it even though I never knew if I would.
Dallas has a stereotypical "look" about it. I guess every city does but I think when I moved here I feared that I would have to become just like all the wealthy, glamorous, beautiful blonde socialites around me (that's the "look"). Frankly, they scared me to death. Then I began to meet people who I really enjoyed being around and who didn't care what I wore or what car I drove. I started to feel comfortable. Was I changing or was I just realizing that my preconcieved notion of Dallas was just that... a notion. I'm still not completely sure.
I think deep down I am a city girl. Having said that, I can compile an entire list of things I love equally about the "country". So what's a girl to do then? I just want to find pleasure in my big city livin', all the while maintaining the deep rooted joys of my childhood. And I don't want to wake up one day having become a person that my family and friends don't recognize.
I love the city but the boondocks are " where I learned about living, where I learned about love, where I learned about working hard, where I learned about Jesus and knowing where I stand..." You know, all the really important stuff that you can't ever take away. Thank God for the boondocks!