Don't I know you?

My world feels smaller and smaller everyday. I used to revel in the fact that connections between friends and acquaintances could be easily made. It was comforting in a sense and gave you an instant connection to the person you were talking to.

But as of recent, I find it a bit annoying. I like to be known by some, but crave some anonymity. I like to blend in more often than stand out. I've always been this way and blame in on my introverted tendencies.

These days, it seems everyone "new" that I meet asks me if I went to Augustana or swears to know me from somewhere. I guess it makes for good conversation and we can usually pinpoint some sort of common ground of how we know or might know each other (even though I sometimes want to scream that I did not go to Augie.)

Oh South Dakota, why do you have to be so small? Even in the largest city, I fail to find some anonymous serenity. I know I should be embracing this as a great networking situation for a young person like myself as it tends to be who you know instead of what you know that gets you places in life. Yet, my small reality just has been so much more obvious in the past week or so that I can't help but find it a bit ridiculous.

I don't really for see the situation changing for as long as I live here or in a smaller community. I also imagine in a larger community people tend to cling to a 'smaller community feel' like we have here anyways. So I guess I better adjust or become a hermit and move to the mountains.