You can love where you’re from and still want to leave. Those aren’t opposites.

Wanting out is not a verdict on the place or the people in it. Towns can be good and also small; families can be loved and also outgrown. Leaving is usually about what you want to try next rather than what you are rejecting, even though it often gets heard as rejection.

Say both halves out loud when it comes up at home, since the people staying can only hear the first part unless you hand them the second. Keep what you want to carry with you: a recipe, a habit, the names of the people who raised you. Then plan the leaving honestly and without apology.