“Years pass, all places and faces fade, some people have died,

And I stand in a far land, the evening still, and am at last sure

That I miss more that stillness at bird-call than some things that were to fail later”

         —Robert Penn Warren

What is your hometown like? We all have a picture of hometown in our minds. In children's eyes, hometown is the place for having the happiest time of life-childhood. In adults' eyes, hometown is a place where they strive to live better. For me, my hometown - Zhoushan, a beautiful seaside city, has its own unique lifestyles. For decades of years, it remains a tranquil living paradise, where people enjoy a carefree lifestyle. 

The old lanes and tile-roofed houses are still existent in my memory, not fading out yet. We used to run through these lanes excitedly after school. And it was clearly remembered that before the Zhoushan sea-crossing bridges were built, I often heard some questions like "Do people in your place go to work or school by boat?" Such a question sounds a bit silly now, but twenty years ago, it was a fact that my hometown was little known in China. At that time, I did hope people could appreciate its beauty more.

After graduation from middle school, I left my hometown to start my campus life in Shanghai. It was my first time to live in a big city, all by myself. Such life was totally new and living on my own was challenging. But I was excited to find life in a big city was completely different from that in my hometown Zhoushan. I saw many modern high-rises in Shanghai. Life was faster there and walking people seemed very occupied. Surely there were more places for shopping and entertainment. Originally, I admired people living in Shanghai. But as time went by, I started to miss Zhoushan. Really tired of living in a noisy and crowded city, I was eager to hug my "sweet island home". 

Honestly speaking, there is something bad about living in a big city: There is too much traffic congestion; People have higher living cost; Not too many people enjoy their free time because of great working pressure. The air quality is becoming worse and worse due to increasing number of people moving into the city.