1. Instead of saying the name of your actual hometown, you refer to your county

I 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

“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

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

Who 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

You graduated with only 200 and that's a small graduating class? That's cute. I graduated with like 86.