When I was asked to come back to the small town in Illinois where I was born and raised, I had to think about it for a few days. Although I do have some good memories about growing up on the farm, I had worked very hard to build a new life for myself. I couldn’t imagine living in Illinois again. But my old high school English teacher called me. She was now the principal of the little school, and wanted me to come and speak to her students. She said a lot of them wanted to get out of the Illinois farming life, and that I could inspire them to follow their dreams. I always had a soft spot for Mrs McGill, so I booked the next flight to Illinois and returned to my old stomping grounds. It felt like this would be a great way to give back to the community that has formed the person I am today, and to assist the young people of Illinois who were going through the same things I went through. When you grow up in rural Illinois it’s sort of expected that you will stay local, and become a farmer or other domestic worker. For Illinois kids that have dreams of college, or science, or the arts,they need a little encouragement. On a much more self-serving sidenote, I also wanted to load up on cannabis when I was there, because Illinois produces some of the stickiest, ickiest chronic I have ever smoked! Between school and cannabis, this trip will kill two birds with one stone.