Small town girl

For the past, ummm, many years, I have lived in a medium-sized city. Before that, I had only lived in towns, the largest of which had a population around 100,000 (to the best of my recollection). Not only that, but I had lived in the South, where you say "Hey" to ALL people you pass on the street. Upon arriving in Portland, I quickly learned that speaking to people you pass on the street in a city causes them distress and it's best to say nothing, and at most give a non-threatening, tight-lipped smile that says "I'm not going to mug you, I just like your {dog, hat, bike, coat, whatever}." I watched the local news and learned that I needed to lock my door and not sleep with the windows open. I learned that there were dangerous parts of town that shouldn't be walked at night, especially not alone. I learned from experience to wear a guarded look on my face at bus stops so that I wasn't targeted by whatever crazy person was nearby.

Now, I find myself back in a town, population about 80,000. Foolishly, I brought all my city paranoia with me. I got an apartment that was not on the ground floor in case I wanted to open my windows. When I went jogging, I was quite cautious about where I ran. Over time, I have realized that I am probably the most scary thing here. I have slowly started to relax back into a small town girl, saying "Hey" and smiling at strangers. Boy, have I missed small town girl.