I broke away from my traditional Amish community. Here's what grabbed me most in the modern world — and what I miss.

• Daniel Beiler grew up in an Amish community with few modern conveniences.
• He dreamed of a bigger world, and was excommunicated a decade ago.
• He told BI what he misses most — and what thrills him still about his new life.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Daniel Beiler, 33, an emergency medical technician and aid volunteer who grew up in a traditional Amish community in Pennsylvania.

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, one of the main Old Order Amish places in the US. I grew up on a small farm in a little community surrounded by mountains and valleys — I was always hunting, swimming, and riding horses.