Where did you grow up? Take a second now, imagine the house you grew up in, the street you lived on, your friends - just think of everything. Did you grow up within the hustle and bustle of the city where it’s almost never quiet and a symphony of horns follows you almost everywhere? Or were you like me and grew up in a small town where everyone knows one another and the streets are quiet compared to those of the city?
If you never got the chance to live in a small town then let me tell you, you were missing out. The town I live in still presently I’ve spent 18 years in, and is pretty much your stereotypical small town where everyone knows one another and unless you wanted to travel the 30 minutes into Boston, there was not much to do. But there were a couple of things everyone knew about living here. So why don’t we go in and talk about the perks I grew up with being just a small town girl living in a lonely world who still hasn’t taken the took the midnight train going anywhere.
Other than being able to use that very corny lyric from Journey in my own way, one thing I love about my small town is the small stores and shops that were scattered around town. Whether they be Country Convenience that is a small convenience store with a gas station, Skinners which has always been the go-to spot for middle schoolers after a half day in the summer because it sold candy and ice cream for great prices or the infamous Vikings Pizza we have that’s named in honor of our high school’s mascot and teams. Coming out of school, whether it be in high school or middle school, everything you could want was in walking distance - meaning Skinners and then Vikings usually with the Tedeschi next to it.
Another amazing thing about living in a small town was how supportive we always have been for our football team. In a home game it seemed like the seats would be filled and everyone cheered the athletes on. I’m proud to say, being a Viking, that we barely lost one game last season and got to go to Gillette Stadium in the finals. I didn’t miss a game and here’s the secret, I never had to pay once, I always had the best view and in the winter I got to sit in a heated van. How? I was part of the multimedia crew so I helped record the games from our brand new van. Yeah, we didn’t always have it. Recording football games used to be a pain. I joined the club the end of my sophomore year and I remember climbing up the ladder in the press box to set up a camera we switched off recording with. The camera was bulky and heavy when you had to adjust it, never mind the fact that you had to be quiet so your voice didn’t come onto the recording and your eyes had to be amazing because even with the glare of the sun you had to follow the ball every throw. I usually stayed away from manning the camera every opportunity I had because I always messed up. Instead, I stood by to help incase who was needed something. Trust me, it was horrible, I’m not going to even get into recording the games in the winter. I’m sure you can imagine how bad that was.
On top of these two major stereotypes we have here, why not add on another? You knew practically everyone. I don’t know how it is in the city but I know here if there was a new kid, everyone knew before the day ended and we all wanted to get a look at who they were. It was an oddity for someone new to show up that we obviously didn’t know anything about. Due to this though, gossip was horrible because you knew if something was started you wouldn’t be safe, it would spread like wildfire. I didn’t grow up with too much drama though mostly, or at least that’s what I like telling myself. I tried and mostly succeeded in keeping to myself, but everyone always has that friend or two that enjoys starting stuff, don’t deny it. If you do, you may be that friend.
Personally, I’ve always said I can’t wait to get out of this town, but the more I think about it the more I wonder if I really do. I mean, I’ve always been bad with change so why do I think I’d like living anywhere but my cozy small town? I don’t know, I guess that answer just lies in my future when I figure out if I stay here after college or move to bigger and better places. Who knows, maybe after a while I’ll move back and continue my life here.
