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I remember hearing the song “Wide Open Spaces” by the Dixie
Chicks as a young girl. I had this crazy fantasy that I was going to move to
New York City and be an actress and I thought that I could go anywhere and be
anyone I wanted to be.
I got older and heard this song again in late middle/early
high school and I thought it was selfish. How you could you leave everyone who
helped you grow, loved you unconditionally, and only wanted the best for you.
(really, I thought “How could I leave my mom and dad?)
The song hid itself away for a few years, and was one of the
first songs that came on my Spotify as I unpacked my dorm room this year. For
those of you that don’t know, I left. I found my “wide open spaces,” which
proved to have tighter quarters and smoggier air than I expected. But, I
learned the lesson anyways.
I learned that every person, in order to truly grow, needs
space to discover what the world looks like for that person, no one else.
(Later in the future we will talk about understanding perspectives, but this is
what is important right now.) The people that help us get there, as hard as it
can be, should be celebrated for helping us take that first, scary, terrifying
step.
I learned that “wide open spaces” shouldn’t be made to
forget where we come from, but to put a little distance there, see the big
picture, and learn from where you grew up.
My “wide open space” happened to be the whole west coast,
but for you it might be the next city, the next state, or the next country.
Whatever you determine is the space you need, learned from where you came and
where you’re going.
The last part of this song makes me cry every time. I am so
blessed to have a mom and dad who are constantly pushing me to learn and take
chances and be better. I know that not everyone has parents who have done this
for them, but think about who has pushed you and grown you, and thank them.
“Wide Open Spaces” by
The Dixie Chicks
Who doesn't know what I'm talking about
Who's never left home, who's never struck out
To find a dream and a life of their own
A place in the clouds, a foundation of stone
Many precede and many will follow
A young girl's dream no longer hollow
It takes the shape of a place out west
But what it holds for her, she hasn't yet guessed
[Chorus:]
She needs wide open spaces
Room to make her big mistakes
She needs new faces
She knows the high stakes
She traveled this road as a child
Wide eyed and grinning, she never tired
But now she won't be coming back with the rest
If these are life's lessons, she'll take this test
[Repeat Chorus]
She knows the high stakes
As her folks drive away, her dad yells, "Check the oil!"
Mom stares out the window and says, "I'm leaving my girl"
She said, "It didn't seem like that long ago"
When she stood there and let her own folks know
[Repeat Chorus]
She knows the highest stakes
She knows the highest stakes
She knows the highest stakes
She knows the highest stakes
Who's never left home, who's never struck out
To find a dream and a life of their own
A place in the clouds, a foundation of stone
Many precede and many will follow
A young girl's dream no longer hollow
It takes the shape of a place out west
But what it holds for her, she hasn't yet guessed
[Chorus:]
She needs wide open spaces
Room to make her big mistakes
She needs new faces
She knows the high stakes
She traveled this road as a child
Wide eyed and grinning, she never tired
But now she won't be coming back with the rest
If these are life's lessons, she'll take this test
[Repeat Chorus]
She knows the high stakes
As her folks drive away, her dad yells, "Check the oil!"
Mom stares out the window and says, "I'm leaving my girl"
She said, "It didn't seem like that long ago"
When she stood there and let her own folks know
[Repeat Chorus]
She knows the highest stakes
She knows the highest stakes
She knows the highest stakes
She knows the highest stakes
