Growing up in a small town is different than what most people believe. Yes, there are less than 10,000 of us, and no we do not have a mayor, and there isn’t anything exotic or fancy based on most people’s standards. We also have some of the hardest working individuals in the Central Valley. I am sure most of you have heard about the farm worker, who despite missing one leg, would work every single day in order to pay bills. But we do not have to search far in order to see examples of hardworking people. Most of our parents have held jobs in agriculture, offices and other time consuming occupations, working almost everyday of the week in order to afford living costs. Many high school students even work after school or on weekends to help support their families as well. There may be many negatives things you can say about a small town but you cannot say most people there are lazy, and unmotivated because in my hometown that isn’t the case. Being from a small town means you have to work twice as hard, once for yourself and another for those who doubt you.
Coming from a small town simply means you have the odds against you sometimes. People are tempted to label you, they don’t see the 4.0 you received, they see the school’s graduation rate, they don’t see the scholarship you received, they don’t see the games or championships you’ve earned, but they do see the gang problems surrounding the community. That just means we have to work harder to get our name out for the positive reasons and not the negative ones.
Not only do we have to work harder for some things, sometimes we are not acknowledged for our accomplishments because of the way most people view us. If a shooting occurs in that town people say its “normal” for it to happen. Graffiti on the wall is “normal” and students dropping out of school is “normal”. When somebody in that town receives a scholarships, attends a prestigious university or excels in a sport it is “surprising” and it is indeed amazing, but not surprising, considering the fact that we have such hard working individuals in this community. What is surprising is that some tend to highlight the negatives when there are so many positives things surrounding the community. It is unfortunate that when some people from that town work as hard a they can in order to make that town a better place sometimes those great efforts, such as graduating with a 4.0, attending a UC, winning a game or improving the local schools can be outshined with the negatives. That’s when students must work harder in order for people to actually recognize those achievements and forget the negatives.
Coming from a small town means you appreciate the little things, the community coming together for athletic games, carnivals and other school events. There is no other place like the Central Valley when it comes to agriculture, we have the best fruit and the smell of orchards invades the entire town during the fall. Seeing the hard work being done all around us is what motivates to make a better name for our town. Whether we are in the news for positive or negative reasons others will always try to bring us down due to a so called “reputation” we have. The truth if being from a small town has its pros and cons but one thing is for certain, being from a small town has taught us to work twice as hard and always prove others wrong by exceeding the expectations.
