I was raised in a small town, so I never knew what it was like to live in a town without knowing every person's first and last name.
During my first semester in college, I met someone in class that happened to be from the same city as my roommate. So that evening, when I got back to our dorm room, I excitedly told my roommate that I met someone from her town and I asked if she knew him. To my surprise, she started laughing and said, "I don't think you understand how large of a city I grew up in. I don't know everyone there." At that point, I started to understand that not everyone grew up in a community where everyone knows everyone; I kind of feel sorry for the people who haven't experienced that.
While there are always a few push backs, there is nothing better than a small town.
1. Sports are everything.
On Friday nights in the fall, the whole town will seem dead except for one place: the football stadium. Those nights are reserved for concession-stand burgers, hoodies and blankets, and cheering on the boys. Also, for any sport, if a team has won a championship then everybody knows about it, and it's the hot topic going around for the next week. Classmates, teachers, parents, grandparents, and even the unrelated older folk would be in the stands to watch their hometown heroes play.
2. There is no such thing as a secret.
The whole town is full of friends of friends of friends. When words of any importance (or not) comes out of someone's mouth, you can expect that the whole town will know after the weekend. My grandma even told me that when her four girls were still in high school, all she would have to tell them is that they better not do anything wrong, because she'll know about it the next morning.This fact can be a good or bad thing, it just depends on the secret.
3. Everyone knows your denomination.
Already assuming that everyone is of Christian faith there. In my town, you were either Baptist, Methodist, Church of Christ or Catholic. Within these churches, you knew every person who walked through those doors on Sunday, and if you didn't, you could bet that 90% of the people are whispering across the pew, "who's that?"
4. Every surrounding town is a rival.
It's those intense district games that I miss the most about playing in high school. Those games aren't just games, it's so much more. You have a history with these towns, you know the opponents by name and you know their strengths and weaknesses. It's about school pride and making your hometown proud.
5. There is only one school in your town.
In my hometown, preschoolers to seniors are all in the same building. Junior high is in the same hallway as the high schoolers and same for the preschool through sixth grade. There is an average of about 10 to 20 kids per grade, and every kid knows every other kid. In addition, the whole town only has one school to cheer for!
6. You still know all of your teachers.
Odds are, you still know and have a relationship with all of your elementary and high school teachers. It's always a good time getting to see these awesome men and women who were able to put up with our class's crap!
7. Your cousins go to that school too.
It has probably happened more than once that you've hung out with a combination of your friends and cousins at the same time. Or even, your cousins could be your best friends. You saw these people at school and at family gatherings, yet you hardly ever got bored of them.
8. Most people don't even live in town.
A lot of the town population doesn't even inside the city limits. In a lot of cases, you would have to drive 10 to 20 minutes on dirt roads just to get to school. When the people in these small towns say they live in the middle of nowhere, they mean it. Most of their neighbors live about a mile away. Fun fact: their dogs have probably never even laid eyes on a leash, they just roam free.
9. A trip to town is a big deal.
I'm not talking about our small town, I'm talking about the other larger "town" where we go shopping for food and clothing. In our little town, we might have a gas station or two, but that's about it. When you "go to town," you better prepare your grocery list and shopping list, because you're probably not going back for another week or two. When someone in the family happens to be in the big town, it's only polite to call your family and ask if you need to pick up anything for them.
10. There is drama.
Remember when I said that there is no such thing as secrets? That brings drama and drama and drama. "He said," "she said," is all you hear sometimes. In fact, when the latest scandal of the town is going on, other nearby small towns hear about it and they all passively try to hear every detail (and then go back and gossip about it.) These small town dramas could seriously be made into a TV drama series with all it is made out to be. To add: just when you think you're staying away from the drama, you somehow always get sucked in.
11. There is history everywhere.
You are probably a third or fourth generation student at your small town high school. You parents could probably tell you what your friends' parents did in high school. Dramatic scandals of the town are always remembered because you hear your grandparents and parents still talk about it. Everyone before you in that town has memories scattered across the county, and you're only adding to them.
12. Boundaries for games were the city limits.
My high school has a legendary (and historic) game that's boundaries are the city limits. Basically a game of tag, you could run from one end of town to another in less than 20 minutes while trying not to get caught. It's one of those towns where people say, "if you drive by and blink, you've missed it." It's so small, we all talk in relative directions; we don't even know our own street's names.
13. If you need directions, stop and ask the gas station clerk.
Not only does everyone know everyone, everyone knows where everyone lives. If someone from out of town needs to find their friend's house, just go ask the locals. You'll probably hear something like, "just past the grain tower, and around the S-curves, you'll turn right on this dirt road.."
