For twenty six years, I tried to escape from hell. I looked for a way out in any place that I could. I even tried a short-lived venture at college life in Cullowhee. Finally, a year and a half ago, I got out of that rural pit…and now, I’d give anything to go back.

Growing up in Alleghany County, I never had my own identity. Every single place I went, without fail, a complete stranger would walk up to me with a smile. I could almost phrase the question for them before they even opened their mouth. “Aren’t you Danny’s little girl?”, or perhaps, “you’re Hazel’s daughter, right?” I grew to loathe going out in public without a parent in tow. Nowadays, I walk down the streets of Winston and long for a friendly face, even if it did belong to a friend or long lost cousin of my parents. It would be nice to be known for a change.

Being well-known definitely did not mean I lived near everyone else, however. In fact, the only way to see my aunt’s house (as she was our nearest neighbor) was to climb as far up the hill behind my own as possible and look to the west. Even then, you would only see her chimney. Living in that hollow was the epitome of isolation. I often wished we lived closer to town, if just so I could have a few friends to play with. I hated it then, but living in this city has shown me how good I really had it. I could go outside at night without fear, leave the doors unlocked permanently, and never hear a car horn or siren. I would trade my proximity to Wal-mart for that solitude in a heart beat.

Of course, living so far out in the sticks meant that you had to drive, a lot, to get anywhere. The nearest grocery store was a good twenty minute drive, thirty if you got stuck behind a tractor, and shopping for anything else meant having to drive even further. At least there you could enjoy the drive. Here, it still takes me twenty minutes to get anywhere, but that’s more due to bad drivers and rush hour than distance. What I would not give to have a traffic jam mean that Mr. Mabe’s cattle were loose again!

Looking back, I wonder now what was wrong with me. This hell hole, as I called it, was truly paradise on Earth, ad all I wanted was to be anywhere else. I finally made my escape to the city, all right, and sit here now wanting nothing more than to go home again.