Growing up in this town, many people have big dreams of moving on to bigger and better things. I had the same dreams, but now that I've experienced more things in life, I realize that I should've appreciated this little town much more. Granted, there are many places better than Arkadelphia, but this town just has too much charm to forget about it completely. Regardless of where life takes me, these are the things I will remember about my hometown.

1. Getting to go to the park for lunch with my mom to ride that little purple dinosaur.

On occasion, when I was little, my mom would take me to get lunch, and we would go to the park to eat it. Regardless of how old I grew to be, I still couldn't resist getting on that purple dinosaur, or sliding down that tan-colored slide. These were some of the best days in Arkadelphia.

2. Going to Walmart before it was a Supercenter.

I remember when "going to Walmart for groceries" meant running inside what is now Atwoods and grabbing a few things. I never could have imagined in my young mind what kind of Walmart would eventually make its home here in town.

3. My alma mater is here.

Some of my greatest days were spent at Arkadelphia High School. I never thought I would look back and miss my time spent there, but I do. From Spirit Week to softball games, it was all done right here in this town. Luckily, my friends and I stay in touch, which I attribute to the size of our town. It would be great just to go back to one more day in high school.

4. Playing tee-ball and softball at Feaster before the new complex.

Before the nice new sports complex, Feaster Park is where it was at — tee-ball and softball games galore. I remember playing in the small ditch with water behind one of the lower fields, catching tadpoles between games with my friends. Now that I think about that, it probably was far from sanitary.

5. Everyone knows everyone.

No matter how far I get from home, one thing I always miss is everyone knowing everyone. This can be annoying at times, but it is really nice to go into a store and be addressed by name because the owner knows your mom or cousin or grandma. People here tend to be quite friendly.

6. Hearing the tornado siren every Wednesday and hoping it was sunny outside.

I grew up being very afraid of storms — my parents would call that an understatement — so when I would hear the tornado siren on a gloomy afternoon, it would all but send me into cardiac arrest. Eventually, as I got older, I started being able to control myself when I heard it. It still scares me sometimes even today.

7. Watching construction men build the "Purple Monster" at Perritt.

I remember going to Perritt and having to watch the Purple Monster be built, but not being able to play on it. We could only admire it from afar, which is torture for a kindergardener. Finally, they opened it for us to play on, but I remember being so sad because I only got to have a year with a playground that amazing. I hope all the kids after my group enjoyed it, because we had to go through the pain of watching that thing be built.

8. All of my teachers actually cared about their students.

One thing I can say about my school district is that I was always close to my teachers. They genuinely made me feel safe and like I could talk to them about important things. Each and every one of them made an impact on my life in some form. Our teachers have hearts and they usually never forget their former students.

9. Getting to go to TCBY if I begged my parents until they couldn't say no.

Before Donut Palace, we had TCBY. Rainbow ice cream was always my flavor of choice (yes, I know it is actually vanilla). I remember getting to go there on field trips as well as with my family. When it closed down, it took my sad little kid heart with it.

10. All of the summers spent on Degray Lake.

Whether it was playing at the lake park, or tubing behind the boat when I got older, I will forever miss the smell of sunscreen and wild hair air drying from the lake water. I remember when I was little I was always surprised that people actually traveled here, but that was before I realized how blessed we are to have a lake like we do. I still love Lake Degray, and it holds many childhood memories for me.

11. All of the life lessons that I have learned in this town.

Through all of the people I have met and all the experiences I have had, I have learned so much during living here. From teachers to gas station employees that eventually learned my name, no other town will ever compare. I always though being from this small town was going to hinder my growth, but now I know that living in Arkadelphia has done nothing but good things for me. I have learned things here that I would have never gotten to know from a big city, or any other city for that matter.