Getting closer and closer to leaving Harding, I have been contemplating my future plans in hopes that I will figure it out soon. Where do I want to live? Do I want a dog? Will I commit to a fitness program? Do I want to go somewhere completely new with people who don’t know me at all? These are the questions running through my head all day, every day. In my mind, there are two ways life could go after college: the easy way or the hard way.

One easy way would mean going home to Indianapolis and settling in where I have a church home and my parents. I would end up spending time with the same people from high school who, just like me, would probably send their kids to the same schools that we attended.

Another easy way would be to stay in Searcy. This consists of the ability to choose a church home from the ever-present church culture here, to keep in contact with professors and to always know what to expect because of spending the past four years here.

What about the hard way? The scariest way to spend life after college for myself and others who attend college in a small town would include a large bustling city, a smaller church culture and not knowing a soul. This would mean taking a large risk that many are afraid to take. The places that initially come to mind are New York City, Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco.

If we are being honest, most college students will go home when they are done because that is the easiest thing to do. Moms and dads will be there to care for and coddle until their children get too comfortable at home. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing bad about going home for a while. However, there is something wrong with not letting yourself be challenged. Either route leads to great and/or horrible things.

With that in mind, I just can’t seem to get it out of my head that maybe going home would stunt my growth and keep me from opportunities and experiences available if I chose to move to a large city without my parents or a significant other. There is such a thing as settling prematurely. I hope to not do that.

When I leave this place that has shaped me, I want to jump into a completely different world that will challenge me in every way possible. I don’t want to be comfortable with where I am, because that would mean I was complacent. Complacency and comfort can become like cages in life.

Just like, in “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” Eowyn told Aragorn she feared “a cage, to stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire,” I feel like more people should fear that cage of comfort and complacency that going back home leads to.

So, don’t cage yourself at home and do what is easiest in life after college is over. Go to those big cities like New York and Chicago where you won’t know anyone and just work hard. Those cities are daunting and almost surreal, but there is something truly beautiful and rewarding in going somewhere and making something of yourself.