I’m Not Ashamed! I’m Proud to Be Born in the Countryside!
Hello.
I’ve observed for a long time how people born in the city often speak dismissively about those who grew up in the countryside. They seem to believe that life beyond their concrete world is somehow less valuable, and that if someone from the countryside comes to the city to work, they are taking someone else’s rightful place.
But you know what? I’m not ashamed of being from the countryside. In fact, I’m proud of it.
And I’m not going to feel guilty for earning my living in the city. Every person has the right to work, to grow, and to live as they choose.
If I had to leave my small hometown to find a job, it doesn’t make me any less than those who grew up amidst glass and concrete.
The Countryside Shaped Me as a Person
I was born into an ordinary family in a small village amid fields and rivers, where the fragrance of freshly cut grass and home-cooked meals filled the air.
From a young age, I understood the value of hard work.
I watched my parents rise in the early hours to work the land, saw my father repairing the fence after a downpour, and my mother setting the table for family dinners.
I learned to respect labor because, in the countryside, no one waits for someone else to do the work for them.
I learned gratitude, knowing the costs of putting bread on the table.
I learned to respect nature, realizing our lives depend on its grace.
And I don’t want to trade this experience for concrete walls, hustle and bustle, traffic jams, and polluted air.
People often say to me:
— If you love the countryside so much, why do you work in the city?
Think about it — why do thousands of people from villages have to move to cities? Is it because they want to?
No, it’s because the system is like this. Because there are fewer jobs in the countryside, and families need to be fed.
But that doesn’t mean we’re unnecessary or inferior to those born in apartment blocks.
I Don’t Want to Live in the City, But I Need to Work
Honestly, I don’t understand why people admire city life so much.
Noise. Dirt. Buildings where neighbors can hear your every move. Cars stuck in traffic for hours. People living nearby who don’t even say hello.
Is this what you call comfort?
I live in my own home.
It’s a spacious two-story house with a large yard. I have my own vegetable patch, my garden, and a sauna. I have a place to take a deep breath, to step into my yard in the morning and gaze upon the endless sky instead of grey walls.
But yes, I have to travel to the city for work.
And yes, it’s inconvenient. The car breaks down, you lose a day. The bus comes once an hour; miss it, and you’re late.
But I’m willing to endure this because the freedom and space of my countryside mean more to me than the concrete boxes of a city.
Don’t Disparage Villagers, as Being ‘Country’ is Not an Insult
Sometimes, I hear city folks mockingly calling people ‘country bumpkins.’
It’s amusing.
City folk view their life as a model of success, yet more and more of them want to move out of the city.
Buy a house in the suburbs, and life is grand? But the moment someone from the countryside works in the city, they’re labeled ‘provincial.’
It’s paradoxical.
Want the truth?
There are more kind, compassionate, and decent people in the countryside than among those who grew up in the city.
Because, in the countryside, it’s customary to help one another. People don’t pass by if someone’s in need. True friendship is understood there.
And in the city?
You can live in the same building for decades and not know who lives next door. You can fall on the street, and no one will help. You can scream and not be heard.
So who’s really the ‘provincial’ here?
If You Have a ‘Country Mentality,’ Neither Paris Nor New York Will Save You
Where you’re born doesn’t determine your intelligence or decency.
You can be born in the countryside and become an educated, cultured person. Or grow up in the most prestigious city district and remain uncultured.
The problem isn’t where you’re born but what kind of person you become.
So don’t speak with disdain: “He’s from the countryside.”
Because being from the countryside isn’t a condemnation.
It’s my small homeland.
And I’m proud of it.
