
I get to travel and work in fancy cities with mass transit and Ethiopian food, then come back and pay $1.87 for a gallon of gas for the car that I can park anywhere on my sprawling 2,000 acres of land that were practically free. When I moved to Kalamazoo from Chicago, I thought for sure that I was going to be happy staying at home and never going outside. Harder than listening to the dentist pry my tooth bone away from my jawbone while I lie there wide awake? Also yes!

You don’t have to cry for me, but listen: trying to make new friends as an adult is the hardest thing I have ever attempted. Photo-Illustration: Preeti Kinha Photos: Getty Images
