Growing up in the suburb of Orland Park, you would think that it is a pretty small town. Aside from a shopping mall (which also has a Cheesecake Factory), it would seem that the town does not offer much. However, as someone who has fond memories of his hometown, there are plenty of things that it offers:
1. Taste of Orland
This would be Orland Park's attempt to create a smaller "Taste of Chicago" for those people who do not venture into the city for the event. This event works the same as it would in Chicago: people gather at a location that brings in the food of the many local restaurants in town. There is also the yearly Battle of The Bands that brings plenty of rocking music to the scene. While you think you may have tried the food of every restaurant after this, there is ALWAYS one restaurant at this event that you will realize you never tried before. This event really fosters the close community feel of the town.
2. Opportunity for all
While this may be something that can be said for almost any town, Orland Park really makes sure that everyone has an opportunity to do something that could impact the community. The town's local library offers a leadership program for students in junior high and high school to get reading programs going to show people that reading is (and always will be) cool. The town also gives plenty of opportunity for people through its massive community center. The community center allows people to get involved in a variety of activities to help out others, even allowing people to create events that others can join! This can vary from creating children's after-school programs to organizing "tech night" events for people to get a crash course in current technology. These events really allow people to shape the town and create a better community for all.
3. Town with a history
Back in second grade, my teacher used to tell me that the town had a rich history, something that my class came to learn when we did our town history projects. While every town has a unique history, I got to learn a multitude of things about my town. I learned that the good old Randy's Market used to be the town's main grocery store (long before Target and Jewel Osco) and where the first train tracks were made in the town (right near the first church of the town as well). I even got to learn that the grandparents of my closest friend used to own the land that would soon make up my small neighborhood in the town! There is always a unique history for every person's hometown, and I like to think the town's history personally connects to me.
Now that I am in college, I have been given the opportunity to explore more of the world and study what I love. However, I never forget about the place I lived in for most of my life. It is because of my home that I became more ready to learn more about the entire world.
