I came from Garrison, Texas, a small town of 895 people, plus one minus one. We're definitely in that awkward stage where it feels weird to call my town a "city," but also too big to call it a "village." We have no actual red lights, only about two real restaurants, and I'm pretty sure the livestock outnumber the people. Though there are some great things about where I'm from (AKA God's country), there are also things in which I am definitely not a fan. If you're from a small town, you might relate.

1. Football is king.

This might not apply to you if you're from a super small town, but at my high school, football was king and no one will deny it. I loved cheering at football games every Friday, and there were even occasions where we got let out of school at lunch so everyone could make the drive to a non-conference football game. Even though cheering for football was fun, basketball was my number one sport. Football basically sucked up most of the athletic funding and while they got new, expensive jerseys practically every year, the other sports had to wait to get new unis every four years. At one point, I was playing in the same uniform that my older sister (five years older) had played in.

2. You probably played more than one sport/were part of more than one organization.

I actually had four different sports and three clubs going on throughout high school, and three sports were just in the first semester. While making it to my cheer practices twice a week, I also had two after school band rehearsals and basketball practice in the little other time I had left. This meant I would cheer first half, run up to the stands to get my instrument, march halftime, and then start cheering again. During basketball season, I would play all 32 minutes of my game, and then change into my cheer uniform to cheer for the guys basketball game. I loved being involved, but this also meant that coaches eventually tried to make you choose between sports. No, I'm perfectly content doing everything, thanks. It also meant that when people wanted to add a new sport (we didn't have soccer or volleyball at the time) members of the school board would say no because it would take away from other sports.

3. If you were acting up in class, your parents would probably know before you did.

Since my grandma is a teacher at my school, this didn't help me any, but I can't count how many times I came home and my mom was like "Oh I heard you were a little chatty in class today." Well I was, but I wasn't planning on telling you, woman. This factor also made me keep my attitude in check. I'm a little bit of a sass master, so knowing that my mom would find out if I was sassy with my teachers helped me stay calm in the most irritating of situations.

4. You have random strangers coming up to you saying that they know your family, or that they're related to you.

I found many long-lost cousins when I was hanging out around town, even when I was filling up my truck at the gas station once. I really love meeting new people, especially when they're related to me, but I need a little more preparation before I have to talk to someone I don't really know for an hour and a half. I also had plenty of people come up to me after football games saying "Hey, I went to school with your dad!" What is the appropriate response for that? Wow that's awesome!

5. If something bad happens, you have a huge family to have your back.

I live in the Bible belt, so a common saying was "I'll pray for you." I really loved hearing this, because the people in my town were genuine when they said it, and they didn't say it out of spite. But sometimes I'm a person that needs to grieve in private, which is hard to do when people are always checking up on you or swinging by your house with the most fattening of foods.

6. No one ever leaves.

I don't know how most people classify this as good or bad, but I'm the kind of person that needs to get out and see new places. I went to college in a different state, and I'm planning on going to graduate school two more states over. A lot of people stay in my hometown after they graduate, which can sometimes be irritating because I never see new people but also they don't get to broaden their experiences. It's not my job to tell others how to live their life, so I can definitely say a positive is that people love my town so much they don't have a reason to leave. Everyone is so friendly and would do anything for their neighbors.

I definitely wouldn't trade my love/hate relationship with my town for the world:)