67. That's the number of students I had in my graduating class my senior year of high school. Whenever the inevitable "what was your high school like?" conversation comes up at college, I always feel like I have to sit back and keep my mouth shut in fear that people will think I grew up in the town from "The Hills Have Eyes." It's just a small place! I'm sorry, but you'll just have to deal with my abnormality, peeps!

OK, I'm off my soapbox. Now we can dive into the ways you just know someone is from the lovely Village of Ottawa Hills, OH.

1. You Had Less Than 100 People in Your Graduating Class

Of course, this is a staple of an Ottawa Hills adolescent. The kids in these classes aren't sheltered from the world or anything like you may be thinking. It's actually a pretty effective system that only runs so well because of the lower mass of feet walking through the halls, but it does have its drawbacks.

2. You Have a Name and a Story

This is self-explanatory. As you can expect, with the small size of the high school comes a small population of the village built around it. And due to this, you have accrued your very own name that's not your own, and everyone knows your story, whether it be bad or good or silly or incomplete. And because of this...

3. You Know Everyone Else's Name and Story

The only thing keeping you from going crazy from almost every human being knowing who you are, where you're from, what your favorite woodland creature is and what you did yesterday for lunch is the fact that you have all the same dirt on everyone else in the village. So, if you're a new villager reading this, tread carefully my friend, for you know not of the terrors of the Mom Mafia.

4. You Are Aware of the Mom Mafia

This group of mothers of school-age children never ceases to amaze me. Every decade there seems to be a new set of members sitting on this holy council of maternal knowledge. These ladies know more than you do about everything happening in the village at all times. They pride themselves on it. Most people hate them for it And every once in a while, you can be sure that they let some of the dirt they have on people slip out, just so they can stir up some trouble amongst kids and parents alike.

5. You're Smart

I don't care what you say about your grades at school, and I don't want to hear what you have to say about them being somewhat bad. The curriculum at Ottawa Hills is the most rigorous compared to any other Toledo school (except maybe Maumee Valley and Sylvania Schools). Getting a C in a class at Ottawa Hills would probably translate to an A in a lot of other school systems. I really hate talking about this because it makes a person sound conceited about their upbringing, but I'm smart just because I went to school at Ottawa Hills. There, I said it. Hate me for it.

6. You Accept That Westgate Shopping Center Is Your Second Home When it Comes to Eating Meals

This place has it all if you're looking to eat heap and delicious. Also, it's almost a 1-minute drive from your house in the Hills. Establishments within this lovely oasis of food and leisure include Chipotle, Five Guys, Rite Aid, Costco, The Fresh Market, Starbucks, and the critically acclaimed Barry Bagels, where you will fall in love with carbs all over again. Whenever you don't feel like a home-cooked meal, Westgate is the place to go and ponder your options and purchase some munchies.

7. You Act Like You Grew Up in a Bubble... Because You Kind of Did

Whenever I explain Ottawa Hills to people, I always give the same description: "It's a bubble of posh community that is unfortunately surrounded on all sides by this gross thing called Toledo." And don't get me wrong, sometimes Toledo is fun, whether it be the Toledo Museum of Art or a Mud Hens game. But when you look at the stats and find out that drugs and human trafficking are its main exports and hits on Google, it's easy to understand how some kids from Ottawa Hills could grow up a little sheltered. This kind of brings me to my next point.

8. Everyone From Northwest Ohio Thinks You're Snobby, Privileged and Rich

It sucks. It really sucks. Everyone hates you. Some people hate you more than others, but most people only hate you a little bit. It's not your fault. You just grew up in the wrong place if you wanted people to treat you the same as they do everyone else from Toledo. And, I know you don't want it or like it, but sometimes you have to own it. Sometimes, even those who live in Ottawa Hills need to realize that they're not all "high and mighty". So what if your dad makes more than your friend's dad; so what if your house is bigger; so what if you go to the top school in Ohio. WHO CARES!?! In the end, we all still lose because we live in Ohio, and Ohio sucks and is gross.

9. You Are a Part of the Coveted: Green Bear Nation

I don't know whose radical idea it was to make the mascot a Green Bear, but I have the same question for him or her that most others do as well.

What the heck is a Green Bear? I mean, is that even real? Were you on drugs when you thought that one up? I mean, come on.

I know some students say that there actually exists a green polar bear in some zoo in Japan that is only that color due to some infection caused by uncleanliness and unsanitary algae in the water. And if that was the actual headlining face of the high school, that would make a sad Green Bear.

Fortunately, that isn't the case, and being a Green Bear means that you are expected to love going to high school sporting events even if you don't have a child in the school system, just because it is one of the main forms of community bonding that can happen within such a small niche of people. What I mean to say is that the community is so small that having everyone at a basketball or football game is an easy feat, and doing so just makes for an awesome time because of how connected the network of people in the village really are.

10. You Love Your Village More Than Anything In the World

Yes, it can be pretty unbearable at times, but this place you wound up in happens to be your home; and you wouldn't be the same amazing and capable person you are today if you hadn't spent the first part of your life being groomed in this magical little village. There were times that I wanted to get the hell outta Dodge and start up fresh somewhere else, but those pale in comparison to the amount and gravity of the times you loved every second of it and wanted to live there for the rest of your life. I still feel that way, and I'm sure that some other villagers can back me up on that sentiment. It was a special place that is hard to go unremembered.

So, stand up and cheer, Green Bear Nation. Because you grew up in a pretty unbelievable place. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.