There are days when I miss green grass. Some days I wish for a helpful smile in my grocery aisle. And on others I simply pine for room to breathe — I guess living with 8.3 million people has started to get to me.

Don’t get me wrong, New York City is incredible. It’s chock-full of personality, opportunity and hot dog vendors. My morning commute never fails to amaze as I look up at the Chrysler Building or run through Grand Central Terminal. Soft-serve ice cream, found on each street corner, is “the bomb.” And musicals like “Billy Elliot” — which practically ripped my heart out — cannot get any better than right here on Broadway.

In short, the city is a prime example of how bigger is usually much better. But through all the glamour, glitz and promise, New York has left this small-town Midwesterner wanting something different.

I think it’s in the way New Yorkers walk. Quickly, like a horse with blinders. Taking calculated risks, while cutting corners. Always in a hurry to beat someone to the punch, not willing to take second place. It is a walk that is individual-driven, a pace that stops for no one. It is a walk that loses its sense of community.

This drive has built New York. And without it New York would not survive today. But it is a force I’ve attempted to steer far away from.

There are many in Albert Lea who seem to believe our community is stale — that it lacks a certain luster. A belief widely found in many of my fellow graduates. It is true — to an extent. Albert Lea is no Minneapolis, and by no means is it a New York. But while the prospects of an overflowing social life or chances at financial success may seem limited, Albert Lea is blessed with a different kind of opportunity.

Once again, I don’t want to give off the wrong impression. Interning at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations has truly been an honor and a privilege. I may not have stopped World War III while I was here, but I am very gracious to the United Nations for allowing me to experience something that may be much more important.

We tend to ignore certain things in Albert Lea — whether on purpose or not. Things like the thousands dying in civil wars across Africa. Or that North Korea really does want to nuke most of the civilized world. But it was hard to ignore those realities as I spent time at the United Nations.

For example, it would have been rude to look away as I shook the hand of the Japanese ambassador. And I couldn’t help but want to mediate as I watched Israel and Palestine wage a war of words in the Security Council. These people are a reality. And they need our help — or at least our listening ear. In short, experiencing the United Nations has opened my eyes to the world.

The U.N. has also allowed me another discovery — that peace is obtainable. For people, no matter what nationality, are people. They want to live and prosper — just like anybody else. So as I prepare to return home, I come back with a set of eyes that accepts the reality of our troubled world but also sees a humanity that is willing to make some changes.

The United Nations and New York have taught me many lessons. I’ve learned how to be aggressive, how to make decisions quickly and the virtue of patience. But I’ve also learned that I’m ready to return to a place that I know is kind, warm and will give me room to grow. I want to live in a city that wants me to be a part of it, not one that would love to see me fail.

New York is a place made up of individuals, not a community. And yes, its elite drive for success has made it into an amazing place; but it is the same drive that is ready, if given the chance, to cut you off and hunt you down.

Albert Lea, don’t ever take that helpful smile in every aisle for granted. Appreciate the chance to roll around in freshly cut grass. And take a moment to breathe, simply breathe. Watch how people pick up their neighbor’s dropped groceries or hold the door open for their elder. Take note of the warmth, kindness and generosity that blesses our little, but caring, community. I used to take these gifts for granted — I don’t anymore.

Abraham Swee attends Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he is double majoring in broadcast news and musical theater.