There are some things in our lives that we are not fond of, but those are the things that make us who we are today. For example, coming from a small town with a graduating class under 100 people I was forever wishing myself out into the world and away from that place. Once it finally came around for me to go off to college I was excited. At the same time, I was also leaving a piece of me behind. Coming from that small town with one stop light in it, college can become intimidating with student bodies reaching over 20,000.
We all grow up and leave at some point just like we wanted too but the fact is we then realize just how much that small town means to us. Senior year comes and the thoughts going through your head is "I cannot wait to leave this place behind me" or "Who would ever want to live here?". When it comes times for graduation you then realize you are not so sure you are ready to give up the town yet, you realize in a couple short months you will be leaving the place you call home and have to be an adult. For some it is great and for others it is devastating.
In a small town like mine, you catch yourself spending time looking at the bigger schools and cities thinking how great it would be to go there and how awesome the football games and school spirit would be to experience. To know there are so many people around you that it would take longer than one class period for the whole grade to know a secret about you. Sometimes thinking about those things makes you miss out on things happening in your present. You may not be able to dictate the high school you go to but you can dictate the college you choose.
Going to a small school might have been one of the best things I experienced. Yes, at times it was extremely annoying when everyone knew your business, or when there were petty fights, or the fact that at least one teacher within the district was either related to you or has known you since birth, or that only the most basic courses were offered. There was also some upsides to it that may not have been known to us when we were still in school. We grew up together, there may have been fights or not have liked everyone but we were each other's family. The teachers were a little more lenient since class sizes were not too big, and more personable with us students. While in high school not all us of may have liked the principal but now that we have grown up a little more we see they did what he did with good intentions we like them. City kids cannot say they had bonfires in a field like us country kids can!
We may not all have liked being in a small town during high school but now that we are graduated we see how big a part of us the town is and forever will be. That small town USA aspect will always be home for you no matter where you end up, you know that place has your back.
