When I began my freshman year at VU, a university about an hour away from Chicago, various classes, dorm activities, and Welcome Week events alike necessitated the stating of the same three things: name, major, and where you're from. For me, the last was almost tortuous, because I almost always had to follow up my answer of "Monmouth, IL" with, "Yes, I'm sure you've never heard of it", while the majority of my classmates were either from Chicago or one of its suburbs.

I found myself for the first time surrounded by people who predominantly grew up in cities, and considered Valparaiso, a little over 30,000 people, a city of over three times the size of Monmouth, a small town. This led me to realize that a lot of people have a very different idea of what it's like to live in a small town than what it actually is in reality, which I would like to partially set out to correct here.

1) Not everyone knows everybody.

Despite what country songs tell you, 9,000 (and even less) people is a large amount of people to know. This may be more true of older generations (my grandpa, for one), but really, outside of your family and high school class, you're too busy wishing you were out of here to get to know people super well.

2) We have three things: pizza places, churches, and bars.

All within a block of the high school, of course.

3) High school sports are everything.

Even if the facilities aren't quite up to par. My high school gym was known as "The Shoebox" because it was so small, but come boys' basketball time, that place was packed with students and non-students alike.

4) You have to travel an hour to go anywhere worth shopping.

Heck, you might even have to leave the state if you're close enough to the state line. A little over a year into college, and I'm still somewhat surprised that there are people who haven't been to Iowa.

5) Yes, we love country music....but also rap music.

As not a huge fan of either, this has always confused me.

6) Parking meters don't exist here.

The first time I ever physically saw one was a trip my friends and I took to Chinatown last year.

7) Elementary school field trips were always to the petting zoo.

Naiobi Zoo was cool and all, but that little train got old after a while.

8) VBS (Vacation Bible School) season is a thing.

Will this year be jungle or marine themed? Who cares, Friday is pizza day.

9) You may go to school in a different town at some point.

Because no money from the state that cares about nothing outside Chicago leads to poor districts, necessitating consolidation, and meaning that you now travel 15 minutes to a town even smaller than your own.

10) Small does not equal hick or southern.

If one of my friends tries to tell me I'm from Southern Illinois again (Central is a thing), I might just run over them with a combine.