I grew up in a small-ish town. It was the worst. My street didn't have sidewalks and the only people in my neighborhood were very old. I was raised by a single

I grew up in a small-ish town. It was the worst. My street didn't have sidewalks and the only people in my neighborhood were very old. I was raised by a single mother who had cancer for the majority of my childhood. Getting her to take us places, like to see other kids, was awful. Either she couldn't or she just didn't want to. I usually didn't speak between the time I went home from school and the time I arrived the next day. I don't think many people understand that level of isolation, but I definitely believe it was pretty damaging to both child-me and adult-me. Some people in my life don't understand why I'll never live outside of a city. I kinda feel like it's obvious in retrospect.