Being from a small town is unique in itself. Unlike living in a bigger place, you become connected. There is an enhanced connection to your community, your school, and even the people you see walking down the street. You don't know everyone personally, but it feels like you do. You've all grown up in this quiet little town at one point or another. You have common ground.
That's why, when a small community loses someone, we grieve in a far different way than people from cities do.
Recently, my small town lost a young woman, only 18 years old, in a car accident. This really opened my eyes to the way we deal with a tragedy like this.
Though I did not know her personally, I knew of her. I had seen her walking down the hallways in high school, and I know people who played with her on the basketball team. Her boyfriend is one of my brother's good friends. I'm friends with many of her long-time best friends on Facebook.
We know their parents, their siblings, their teachers and where they lived. We donate to their funeral services. We personally send our condolences to their family.
The thing about living in a small town is that you don't have to know a person personally to grieve them on a personal level. In some way, you were a part of their life. They had seen you walking down the hallway, too. They played basketball with your best friend.
You grieve them like you lost someone close to you, even if you had never spoken a word to them. I know that I'm not alone on this-- I've heard that many other people are feeling the same way.
I'm not trying to discount the way larger communities grieve. I'm sure, on some level, they feel a loss. But being in a place that relies on the people around them so heavily to get through times of grief, I know that we do things differently.
No one is a number here. No one is just a face. We care deeply and passionately about every person in our little town on a level that is unmatched by other places. Sometimes, though, we don't realize how much we actually care until it's too late.
My little town's ability to come together in a time like this is truly astounding. You will not find a group of more caring and kind individuals than you would in a place like this. I am proud to call where I live my home.
