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There’s something so rewarding about driving through a small country town after spending 30 minutes on the highway.

Finally seeing tall glass buildings getting smaller and smaller and eventually gone from the reflection of my rearview mirror and being welcomed instead by endless green fields dotted with cows, goats, and horses. It felt like the town was in a permanent state of golden hour by how much brown and beige filled the place – it didn’t feel real.

A couple of days ago, I took my cousins to an animal farm in the Swan Valley. We rode on a chain of barrels pulled by a big red tractor, pointing and naming every animal we came across on our ride. We fed bunnies, guinea pigs, and even the horrifying-looking turkeys. I didn’t even know turkeys could look so scary! 

As I wandered in and out of the pens, petting cows and sheep, I couldn’t help but think of my dad and his love for towns like this one. When I was younger and we would visit Australia, he would never miss the opportunity to take us to a farm because he wanted to pass down his love for animals to us – which worked. 

Stealing glances of the world passing by outside my driver’s seat, I knew too that he would’ve stopped by those tearooms and gelato shops had he been there. I could imagine us having some pastries and him drinking his tea doused with milk inside a small cottage.

I’ve been living in the city for too long, barely driving to the outskirts that I forgot just how much I love the stillness and tranquillity of the countryside. How it invites you to slow down and find satisfaction in staring at green fields stretching across the horizon. I think I needed that more than anything at that moment, especially as we begin to ease back into the buzz of uni life for semester 2. I think everybody should go out to the countryside (or nature, in general) more often even if you’re a proud and true city slicker.

I began to conjure up images of what my life would be like if I decide to live in the countryside in the future. Now to be honest with you, I don’t think I could ever do without the luxury of having big grocery stores, shops, and uninterrupted phone services accessible to me but like I said, it’s nice and necessary to get out once in a while when you can. I imagine that I would live in a house that looks like the one in Call Me by Your Name or The Notebook. I would have a farm, of course, and travel around the grounds on my horses. I’d probably have a green finger by then and tend to my herb garden in the evenings. I’ll spend my weekends at the local market, reading, and writing.

Oh, a girl could dream. For now, though, I’ll be content just driving through these charming towns and admiring their beauty from my car window like an art gallery visitor admiring a painting.