When the Leaving Is Essential

Educated, young Mississippians are leaving the state in droves. Will they ever come back?

Last month, in a surreal turn of events, I found myself on a poolside patio belonging to a very wealthy Mississippian, drinking red wine and eating the fanciest, most delectable pimento cheese sandwiches I’d ever tasted. I was talking with a group of interesting writers and thinkers about a subject that occupies the minds of all Mississippians, regardless of age, class, or political leaning: brain drain.

One of the writers at the table, someone who I greatly admire, said that he often counsels young, college-aged Mississippians to leave their home state, expand their minds and opportunities, and then come back home when they have sufficient resources and skills to invest in their communities. It struck me as sound advice. Leave speaks to the logic of opportunity cost, but also to the youthful desire to “see what’s out there.” Come back speaks to the heart. I was reminded of Mary Miller’s Rooted questionnaire, in which she writes: “The leaving part was essential, though. If I’d never left, I’d feel much more conflicted about being here.”

Still, I couldn’t help but think that this counsel was maybe a little biased. As I looked around the table, I noticed that every single Mississippian there—aside from my own transplanted self—had followed a similar pattern. Each of them had left their home state for greener pastures, or at least a change of scenery. Growing up in Mississippi, they had felt constricted, out of place. They needed to get out. Then years later, they returned home, accompanied by a fresh perspective, a newly minted appreciation for Mississippi. I wondered, though, if these individuals were outliers. Realistically, how many Mississippians who leave are actually going to come back?