"Oh... you're from Lynn...? *look of disgust* For 18 years and counting, I've lived in a city that I call my home. My friends live here, my high school is here, and my family all reside in Lynn.

Until I was going into middle school, I never understood why people gave such scared looks when I said I was from Lynn. Lynn is the "shoe city," home to almost 100,000 people, one of the biggest cities in Massachusetts, and the notorious "dangerous" city to be in.

I'm tired of the dirty looks I get from people from other towns. I'm tired of being a little embarrassed to say I'm from Lynn. I'm tired of the bad reputation. For those that have never been to Lynn, you've never seen ward one and some of the houses behind Union hospital because those are some beautiful houses. You've never seen our stunning Manning Bowl, or the new murals painted in downtown Lynn. Lynn woods is a sight to see; Stone Tower, Dungeon Rock, and Steel Tower are breathtaking. There's nothing better than a nice walk in the woods along the reservoir in the summer.

Although Lynn is a big city, there's this close environment of people, you'll always end up seeing people you know when you go out. My parents see people they went to high school with all the time; you know everyone it seems. It's hard to not go out for a jog or to the store without seeing a familiar face.

Lynn is home to some amazing athletes like Harry Agganis, who played baseball for Boston University, then for the Boston Red Sox. A few other Lynn natives that made it to the MLB are Stan Andrews, Josh Fogg and Ken Hill. Pine Grove Cemetery is, in fact, one of the largest cemeteries in the country, and is said to have the second largest man-made stone wall next to the Great Wall of China. There's a sub shop on almost every corner of the city with amazing food that will have you going back.

If you like diversity, there's no better place to find it. Every corner you turn you'll see people of different races, people from all over the world and a handful of countries. I'm sure if you're reading this, you might be laughing or even confused why I'm praising this city that I grew up in. Everyone knows of Lynn as a dangerous city filled with gangs, drugs, and crime. Sometimes they're not wrong. I hear police sirens almost every night, I see emergency vehicles in action every day, and Lynn is on the news more often than I wish it was.

In 2017, everybody wants to focus on the negative about people and places and pretend like they don't. Lynn has a bad reputation and most days it lives up to it, but some people are lucky enough to see the beauty of it instead of all the bad. Sure, there's some neighborhoods I avoid driving down or I make sure my doors are locked when I do drive down, but we're a few changes away from losing this reputation. If you haven't read up on or haven't seen the new murals being painted all over Lynn I suggest you do, because the meaning behind the whole project is inspiring.

It's the 21st century, let's put things aside and give cities like mine a chance. It's really not that bad at all!