Whenever I tell someone I'm from North Dakota, it doesn't surprise me when they say they've never visited North Dakota or ever met someone from there before.
The 48th most populous state in the nation, North Dakota only has 723,292 residents, which is much less than the population of the close to 3 million residents in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area alone. Even worse, I am from the more rural, western side of the state. Despite my college friends always making fun of me for being from such a rural state, I am so grateful for such an incredible place like North Dakota.
Growing up there was such an adventure, an adventure I would not trade for the world. There are unlimited reasons why I love being from Williston, ND. Here are my top five.
1. You have the same friends for your entire life
The majority of my closest friends from high school became my friends when I was at or below the age of six. This is because -- and I really have no other way of saying this -- branching out really is not an option. With a mere 137 in my graduating class, I basically knew everybody by the time I was 12. Being from such a small, rural place allowed me to form some of the closest, most genuine friendships that I may ever have.
2. The entire city is your support system
There is not a single person in Williston that I can think of who would not want to help me be successful in my future. Whenever I come home, everyone I see is curious about how school is going and what my plans are. The community is so supportive and I know that I can always look to people in Williston, and North Dakota in general, for support.
3. Everybody knows everybody
This may seem typical like “small town" statement to a person; however, it brings me great joy to know that I knew everybody in my graduating class and I can walk up to any one of my classmates from high school and have a genuine conversation with them about anything and everything. The amount of connections I have made and relationships I formed in Williston is unreal. Because of the small town environment, I feel connected to almost everyone I come in contact with when I'm home. Having close friends from several other high schools across the state was also not unusual. Not only is the town connected, the entire state is.
4. You learn to make your own fun
It is weird to think that I used to vacation in Minneapolis when I was younger. The nearest shopping mall was two hours away, and going to a water park was a treat that might have happened once or twice a year. Because of this, fun was something that we had to make on our own. This included activities such as collecting bugs when I was really young to dumpster diving, pranking each other, and road tripping when I was older. The memories I made doing random, fun things are priceless. I wouldn't trade them for the world.
5. You learn to appreciate the little things
Let me be honest: there really is not much in Williston. This could be a bad thing, but in the long run, having less is actually a good thing. I learned to appreciate my relationships and life experiences much more than I feel I would have if I grew up somewhere else.
North Dakota is so incredible and I would not have wanted to grow up anywhere else. I have yet to meet a group of people so genuine and kind as the community where I grew up. Wherever I end up when I'm older, I will always be proud to call North Dakota home.
