I like it here

I think that not seeing the copious amounts of diverse beauty the Midwest has to offer is the symptom of a species that spends too much time in nest and in front of artificial worlds.

Saying that the Midwest is boring, and that the terrain is all the same. Cows and corn mostly. Is one of those false statements that large portions of people will take as a truth without even thinking. Sometimes I feel that nothing makes educated people happier than being able to conform without admitting it.

The farms, forests, rivers, valleys, barns, crops, open sky of the Midwest are grossly underestimated. People drive on a cement interstate and look out their window, and think somehow they know what this state has to offer. They are wrong.

The people I know who complain the most about this place, are the people who spend the most time in their little rooms, or who spend time in front of a man made forest or pond, when a real river and forest are a five minute drive away. 20 minute walk. There are so many different trees, birds, flowers, plants, rocks, within twenty minutes of you here that it is ridiculous. I love mountains, but I also love being able to see the huge beautiful sky at every side of me and wide above me. I love the way the grass blows and the wind works here.

Now I'm not saying I spend large amounts of time outdoors. I am as addicted to my comfy little corner, and interesting little internet as the next soul. But I love where I am.

That being said, I want to see the world. I really do. After living here all my life, and seeing much of what the Midwest has to offer, I am ready to see what other parts of the country and other countries have to offer. But, it sickens me how under-appreciated this part of the country is. Literally. It makes me want to vomit. And then scream. And then kidnap people and bring them birdwatching with me to all the little coves I've found around here. And then just cry.

There is something to be said for a land that is so new, unexplored, a relatively blank slate for identity and community. There is something to be said for a land that isn't. I for one am a pioneer in spirit.

The narrow minded missing of the beauty is what drives me nuts. There is beauty absolutely everywhere. I don't see how people don't get that they are cheating only self by not having a sense of exploration right in their own little patch of the world, but rather reserving it for the rest of the world. Quit complaining and open your eyes.

Maybe Iowa is boring to most people. But the joke is on them. Happiness can come in big flashy cities. But peace, unity with nature, is what this land has to offer. I love it here. I am overwhelmed by its beauty. I am happy. And I know that wherever I go next I will be able to see the beauty there, too. This place is in my blood. This is where my family is from. If you insult it in front of me again... just know that it really does hurt me.

This post is awkward and is so far from really expressing what I mean that it hurts. Some things, a very very few-few things, are so sacred to me that I hate putting them into words.