Before I began to interview the editor and publisher of the newspaper, I decided to get to know the employees who work there. The first person I encountered was The Watchman’s secretary and reporter, Leslie Chambers. Her role is to keep up with office files and help with the publishing process.

 

When she started working at the newspaper, it was a whole new territory. Chambers started her college career studying in the medical field as a nurse practitioner, but changed her path when she began working at the Watchman. Now, she is going back to school to study journalism and business. She hopes to own her own business in the future.

 

As a mother of two, Chambers worries that if she stays in Greensboro, she might not be exposed as many opportunities a larger city might provide.

 

“If you don’t get out of your box, you can miss out on a lot. I want to live and travel and expose my kids to different things,” said Chambers.

 

We began comparing our lives by thinking of our family members who stay in Greensboro who don’t want to leave home because of family and friends.  “I can make family wherever I go. I can make friends wherever I go. That’s no excuse for me to stay,” Chambers claimed.

 

Having this conversation created a conflict for me personally that I’m sure many young people face. I began to think about my own l life and how hard it may be for me to leave my own hometown, Madison, Alabama.

 

In some situations like mine, teens are so ready to leave home and go to college. There’s a new world out there ready to explore. But when you finally leave that place that has been apart if you so long, reality begins to set in. But in college, you always get to go back to that safe place. But what happens when you graduate, when it’s time to conquer the real world?

 

I began to think about my plans after college. I will have to make a decision that will impact my future. If I did leave, I would be leaving a place that helped me shape my identity, a place that has been a part of me since I can remember. I would be leaving friends and family who love me for who I am and who support me in anything I do. I would be leaving a place I am comfortable with. When comparing my hometown to any other place, there’s nothing like it.

 

But if I stay in one place forever, how will I know what the world has in store? It might make me complacent. I might miss out on developing new relationships that help continue to shape me.

 

On my journey to Greensboro, I discovered not only the importance of my community but also the importance of growth. You have to be mature enough to make decisions that are best for you and sometimes that means stepping out of your comfort zone.

 

This journey helped me understand that it’s important to take the lessons I’ve learned and memories I’ve made with me into the future no matter where I call home.