Going Back Home! – Deerfield, Kansas

I am not from Salina, Kansas, but I attend Kansas Wesleyan University. Originally I am from Deerfield, Kansas. A small town near Garden City, KS, three and a half hours away from Salina. When I came to college it was my first time moving because I have always lived in Deerfield, so I was worried about adjusting without my family. But here’s an update: I am perfectly fine! This makes me want to move further after college. I don’t think my family would like that as they miss me a lot already.

Many people who came here to Kansas for college or even people who have been here for years don’t understand why people would pick Kansas, due to how flat it is. Yet I think that’s the beauty of it. The opportunity to see miles and miles of land. It reminds me of the ocean in a way, the similarity of seeing “nothing” but everything for miles. It’s just plain, flat, untouched.

I made the trip back home to surprise my Grandma for her 80th birthday! I invited my roommate to come with me as well. Rain in Eastern Kansas is normal, but in Western Kansas, we think it is a blessing when it rains. It made driving back a bit difficult, especially when a semi would splash water when driving by. My roommate was surprised stating, “Oh my gosh, that’s a lot of water!” She is from Utah and she says that most of the time people try to not drive around semis very much. 

When we finally made it into town it was around 8 o’clock. We went to my grandma’s house first. I ran up the stairs, waved at the camera she had on her front porch, hit the doorbell, and opened the door yelling, “SURPRISE!” My Grandma was very happy and surprised that I came. I also showed my roommate where I went to school as my grandma lives right next to it. Even though I warned that I lived in a small town she was still very surprised at how small Deerfield is.

On Saturday, we had my Grandma’s birthday dinner with all my family. Earlier in the day my roommate and I went to Garden City to watch the movie “We Live In Time”, which we both loved but wanted more of the story with the ending of the film. Then went to Target to get Starbucks and walked around for a bit. We got hung up on the book and Lego aisle. Then went back to my Grandma’s home for dinner with all my family, and after finishing up some homework we watched the OU football game vs Mizzou, and played the card game Books and Runs. After a short visit, we drove back to Salina on Sunday.

All photos by Alyssa Smith.

More about Deerfield, KS – https://deerfieldkansas.com/ 

Other articles about non-local students –

 KWU International Athlete Spotlight – Brandon MacCarter

 KWU International Student Spotlight – Brandon MacCarter