I'm not gonna lie, there have been a ton of articles written about growing up in a small town, I thought I would put my spin on it. Growing up in a small town had its perks but it also and some major downsides. I grew up in a small town called Peru, it's about an hour and a half north from Muncie. It's a lot smaller than Muncie, everyone pretty much knew everyone and there was no way that you could get away with something if someone else knew your grandma, and trust me, everyone knows my grandma.
My grandma had 5 girls, all of whom grew up in the town of Peru, so I would get people I didn't know coming up to me and asking me if so and so was my aunt or if so and so was my grandma. At first, I was like "Oh man this is so cool, you know my grandma!" then it turned to "yes before you ask I am her granddaughter." in a very annoyed tone. That's only one of the many downsides to living in a small town.
Not all of it was bad though, I have a lot of good memories growing up there. Most of the time when people think of Peru, they think "oh that little town between Kokomo and Fort Wayne?" It's actually the Armature Circus capital of the world. Peru residents are very proud of that and they throw a week long party for it.
A giant carnival comes to town and there are rides and rigged carnival games. It takes up two whole streets and everyone comes together to spend time together and they bring their kids to ride the rides and just make memories. I went every summer with my grandma, it kind of became our own little tradition. That is, however, the only thing that Peru is famous for. 99% of the time, when I told people that I was from Peru, they always asked me if I was from the country. Eventually, I just made a public service announcement when I was with a group of new people that I was from a small town north and no one has really ever heard of it unless you from that area.
When I found out that we were moving I was really sad, I was too young that it was for the better, so I thought that my parents were ruining my life. Now that I am older I know that it was for the best. Another perk to living in a somewhat bigger town was that I didn't have to drive 45 minutes to a mall or buy anything you can't get at the grocery store.
People knew everything that was going on in Peru, secrets and gossip spread like wildfire. When someone got divorced everyone knew the next day. When someone died everyone showed up to viewing hours even if they didn't know them because they would know their family, In times of need people of small towns came together, that it one of the things that I miss the most. I miss that little old lady at church that would ask me how I was doing or my grandma's best friend slipping me some candy during church to keep me awake. Living in a small town, where everyone knows everyone and family matters.
