Small town life is weird. It's kind of like a cult. There is zero chance for anonymity because you know practically everyone and everyone knows you. The whole town just absolutely has to know your business. Everyone living there looks down on outsiders and people who go against the norm. And it can be very hard to leave sometimes.
That being said, if you do end up leaving, you're upbringing will always follow you throughout your life. There are just somethings that give it away that you're from a rural community. Here are just 10 of the signs that you grew up in the middle of nowhere.
1. Instead of saying the name of your actual hometown, you refer to your county
GiphyI already know that there’s a very low chance anyone I meet knows where Carey is, so I always say that I’m from Wyandot County. Even then, I often get “Where’s that? I didn’t know that’s even a county in Ohio. Is it in Southern Ohio?”
2. And when people say, “Where’s that?” you tell them how close you are to the nearest city
“Do you know where Findlay, Ohio is? No? Do you know where— You know, never mind. I’m about two hours away from Toledo.”
3. There’s absolutely nothing to do in your hometown
I mean you could hang out in a cornfield or go to Walmart or maybe go to the public pool (ew), but if you want to do anything fun, you often have to travel at least two hours to the nearest city.
4. You often have to travel long distances to receive proper medical care
Rural hospitals are essentially glorified bandaid stations. They can deliver babies, put on a cast, and diagnose you with a UTI... and that’s about it. I’m sure they do more than that, but if you have a serious medical condition, they’ll most likely just send you to the nearest city — which can be over two hours away, depending on what’s wrong with you.
5. You or someone you know was involved with FFA and/or 4-H
Emily Motta
“I believe in the future of agriculture, with a faith born not of words but of deeds...” -The beginning of the FFA Creed by E.M. Tiffany
6. The county fair is the biggest event of the year
Emily Motta
Rides, animals, food, and free stuff in the merchant's building. What's not to love? It was an even bigger deal if you showed animals for 4-H and FFA.
7. Everyone knows your business and you know theirs
As soon as something happens, everybody in town knows and has already formed their own opinion about it.
8. Football was your high school’s only concern
GiphyWho needs the foreign language department? It’s not like anyone from Cornfield, Ohio is ever going to meet an actual Spanish speaker, right? Better invest all the district’s money into the football team.
9. Speaking of school, elementary, middle school, and high school were all in the same exact building
The elementary was literally right down the hall from the high school where I went to school. The building was also over 100 years old until they built a new one my senior year on part of the FFA’s test plot. You could say that in my hometown, they literally go to school in a cornfield.
10. And you knew every single person in your graduating class
GiphyYou graduated with only 200 and that's a small graduating class? That's cute. I graduated with like 86.
These are just a few of the signs that your hometown is in the middle of a cornfield (figuratively, of course). These are things that you'll always know wherever you end up in life. And that might not be so bad because like every other experience in life. You can learn from these things.
