Audrey Elwood, Arts & Entertainment Editor

The first question I get when I tell people where I am from is always, “Why did you move… here?”

I could tell them that I came for a special program that I later switched out of. I could tell a lie that I knew people when I came here. Or I could tell the truth — that I wanted to go as far away as physically possible. Moving away is the best thing I have ever done for myself, and I believe everyone needs to do it at some point in their lives. 

I was born and raised in Everett, Washington, which is perhaps best known for having the largest building in the world by square feet, having the first case of COVID-19 in the country (my high school had the first case in any U.S. high school, fun fact) and being the birthplace of the OceanGate submarine. 

Truthfully, I loved spending my days in the trees and walking to the beach. What I hated about it was the sameness.

I have known most people in Everett since my adolescence. While there is something poetic about this, there is also something terrifying about it. Most of my friends’ parents worked in tech, drove Subarus (guilty) and went hiking on the weekends. When you stay in the same place forever, you assimilate, whether it’s intentional or not. 

When I came to Xavier, I was overwhelmed, I knew no one and had the privilege of completely reinventing myself. No one knew about my past or the embarrassing nicknames I had in middle school. I was a different, cooler person from just outside of a well-known city. When I got the chance to restart, I felt free in a way that was truly once in a lifetime. I learned perspectives that were uncommon back home, and I had friends that I never would have had in Everett.  

It transformed me as a person. I have had a 10-year plan since I can remember, which involved working on Capitol Hill and being in the depths of electoral politics. That’s how I convinced my parents to let me move 2000 miles away: there was this amazing program. 

What I could have never imagined was falling in love with the one thing I swore to never major in: business, or finance and economics, to be more specific. We should evolve, and if we choose to remain stagnant and never leave our comfort zone, we will never grow. 

Don’t get me wrong. I understand why people stay. A strong support system is vital to a person’s well-being. Financial reasons are also a huge factor. The accessibility of moving away is a very real reality. A new job in a new city, study abroad or even just working a summer in a different city can completely change the very fiber of your being. 

I will never regret my decision to leave. I may not stay in Cincinnati forever, but I will deeply cherish the moments and experiences I have had here. It was terrifying to leave, but I developed in ways I didn’t know was possible.

 Leave your hometown, even just for a month or a year; it will be waiting for you. Sometimes, you need to take a leap of faith and book a plane ticket. I hadn’t even been to Cincinnati before I moved here, but now a part of my soul will be in Cincinnati for a lifetime.