The wonderful state of Nebraska.

 Where Am I?

I was asked to type up a posting about where am I in life. Well being from the big city of Tulsa, Oklahoma is a lot different than the little town of Aurora, Nebraska. In my opinion bigger isn't always better because I for one love the small town life in Aurora. Now I can see that if I had grown up in the city I would probably be completely against living in a rural area, not even knowing all the things I would be missing out on.

2009 Aurora Tornado taken by me.

Lets start out with my state, Nebraska, where the prairies roll on for miles...not! When I think of Nebraska that is probably one of the last things I think of. One thing I love about Nebraska is the weather it brings us, the cold winters, brutally hot summers, but my favorite is the spring time thunderstorms. I love the smell of a thunderstorm collapsing down right on top of you, only to be followed by a bright flash of lightning and a death defying thunder. I can remember many times going storm chasing with my dad and brother. We always wanted to see a tornado up close and on the day of June 17th, 2009 we got our chance. Me and my dad had drove out a couple miles past the Iams dog food plant and watched the storm go by for about an hour. I keep telling my dad that we should just go home because nothing was going to happen but he just keep saying to wait a few more minutes. Well what do you know he was right, a funnel slowly dropped out of the sky about five miles in front of us and it wasn't getting any smaller. My dad was driving right in front of its path and we even passed a storm chasing team that was running for cover. It was the most amazing thing once we knew we were out of harms way.

The Aurora Court House.

Living in Aurora I know that if this tornado were to have hit the town the community would have helped anyone they could have. That's just what you get living in a small town, you would never find that kind of hospitality in a big city. When I think of Aurora I think of a farm dominated community. With the ethanol plant, the new Aurora west project, and all the Aurora Coop places we probably couldn't thrive without all of this. The truth is that all these companies offer jobs but they are small jobs. Teens in today's world are told to go off to college and get a good job so they can make lots of money, but is that the right choice? In my opinion there would be nothing better than to stay right here in this town my whole life and start a family. Why? Simply because I don't care about money. Of course I want enough money to support my family and my hobbies but I believe in a small town that its still possible to do this. Things don't cost as much in a small town and you have the great community to help you out. I plan on getting a job in welding and being right back in little old Aurora.

Me and my brother on our go kart.

Even with the great community everybody still needs their private time and what better place than your house. I have never really lived at a house for more than five years. We have lived in two different houses in the country around Aurora, one actually in the town of Aurora, and we have just recently moved to a house in Hampton, Nebraska only a few miles from Aurora. I still consider Aurora my home town. Living in so many different places I feel has actually been an advantage to me. I have gotten to experience almost every possible scenario unlike most kids who are in the same house until they move out. With this experience I know when I move out I want a house in the country. There is nothing better than the peaceful morning sunrises or the full stary night skys. (something you cant even imagine unless you see it for yourself) Another benefit to living in the country is there are a lot more freedoms. You can ride four wheelers or have animals or anything you can think of as long as its not against the law that is.

My girlfriend and I. Phillips Baseball Champs

In conclusion, I have only written a few short paragraphs and I could probably still tell you stories for hours. Teens in big cities will never get to experience these things and I for one feel sorry for them. So you people reading this blog if your thinking about moving away to a big city, just stop and think again. Do you ever want to smell a storm rolling in on a crisp spring afternoon? Do you ever want to be around a community that will do practically anything for you? Do you ever just want to be around your family in a small town? AND do you really want to abandon the place that has raised you to what you have become today? You tell me...DO YOU???