Growing up in a small town has its ups and downs. I have lived in one my entire life. I don’t get the same fuzzy feeling in big cities that my small town gives me. Everyone knows your name, they know your parents and they have heard the good, the bad and the ugly about you from someone in the town. Although it is annoying, you would not want it any other way. If you are from a small town, then you will understand these few things.
1. When you leave your house and go to the store, you will run into at least one person you know.
Since it is a small town, there is only one grocery store and a couple of gas stations. You are bound to run into someone no matter how much you try to avoid it. You try to cover your face, so you do not have to interact with some of them, but it never works. You run into them a few times in the SAME store, and it sucks.
2. When you get stuck behind a tractor it does not even phase you.
If you live in a small town this has happened to you before. You are somewhat annoyed when you get behind them because they are going so slow, but you pass them when you can and it is no big deal.
3. Hanging out with your friends in parking lots was kinda cool.
You have done this at least once. Most of the time it happens outside of restaurants or gas stations. You are trying to figure out what to do next, but you really just enjoy standing outside and spending time with friends.
4. When someone asks where you are from, you name the closest big city to you and say how far away from it you are.
It always happens and it is extremely annoying. “Do you know where Dothan is? Well, we’re about 40 miles north of there.”
5. You go to the football games on Friday nights even if you have already graduated.
High school football is always a big deal. It does not matter whether or not you are an alumnus or a student. Your high school was a family, and it remains that way even when you are not there.
6. The kids you went to kindergarten with were also the kids you graduated with.
You grew up with everyone. You saw them at their worst, you know their family situations and you know who they have and have not dated. They were your best friend then and they are your best friend now. Some of them you even couldn’t stand because you had been around them your whole life.
7. Secrets were never secrets because they would spread around the school before the school day was over.
Rumors spread like wildfire. It did not matter whether they were true or not. Two people broke up or someone said something about so-and-so. Embarrassing stories or sad, everyone knew.
8. Your teachers knew your older brother/sister and called you by their name at least once.
If you are the older one, lucky you. You never had to be called the wrong name, but your teachers will ask about you for years to come as your family passes through the school, as well. You have to deal with embarrassing stories the teachers bring up about your older siblings.
9. Going shopping always meant going for an hour drive to the closest store.
Malls and any other clothing stores always turned into an all-day event just because of the drive. You needed new stuff, so you got everything you needed instead of having to make another trip.
10. When you got bored, you drove around because there wasn't anything better to do.
Road trips were fun, and they were even better with your friends. You drove around the back roads all night listening to your favorite songs. It cleared your head, and it cleared your head when things got tough.
11. The people you went to high school with probably never moved out of the county you lived in.
Everyone loved how at home they felt. No one wanted to leave, so they moved out of their parent's house (which is only right down the road) and started a family of their own.
12. You hated it sometimes, but you would not want it any other way.
You always talked about how boring it was and you just wanted to leave, but as you got older, you came to appreciate it. It made you who you are today, and you cannot wait to take your kids to show them where you grew up.
