Young people need a reason to come back to Wyoming

This month, I had the pleasure of attending the graduation ceremonies for Gillette College and Westwood High School. And on Sunday I’ll get to watch Campbell County and Thunder Basin’s graduations.

As the chaos and the crazy starts to ramp up with election season, it’s nice to spend a couple of hours not thinking about politics.

I remember my high school and college graduations. As was the case for most people, it was a bittersweet moment for me. For my high school graduation, where I walked with about a couple dozen other homeschooled students, I was leaving behind the homeschool lifestyle and going to a huge school of 3,000 students.

It was a bit scary, but the college experience definitely got more fun as time went on. I learned how to make friends, how to talk to people and how to have a good time without alcohol (the school was a dry campus).

I made a few close friends that I stay in touch with to this day. That, more than the degree, is what made it worth it for me.

After four years, it was time to move on again. This time, I was leaving a small school of 3,000 students in the middle of cornfields, 12 minutes from Dave Chappelle’s house, and I was heading to a brand new state.

Moving to Wyoming is probably the biggest risk I’ve ever taken up to this point in my life. And so far, I’d say it was the right choice. Despite all of the complaining that people like to do, Wyoming is, in general, a good place to live.

For years, people have lamented how Wyoming is losing its young people, but I believe young adults would benefit from leaving their hometown, at least for a few years, especially if they’ve lived there for their whole lives.

Wyoming is a bubble. Get out there and experience different cultures, see how things are done in other communities. Then, if you find that you miss life back home, you can come back.

The brain drain problem is real, but it’s not unique to Wyoming. What community leaders need to do is make sure their city or town is worth returning to. Is it the jobs? Is it housing that’s reasonably priced? Is it the amenities? Is it the low taxes? (Spoiler alert: it’s not the low taxes).

I think it starts with the people. If the residents of a city truly care about their community, if they care about making it a great place to live, that will be reflected in every facet of that community, and that, in turn, will be attractive to the 20-somethings who are trying to decide what to do with their lives.

We don’t need to give young people a reason to stay, we just need to give them a reason to come back.