I have always been the type of person who has wanted to get out of my hometown. It is not my favorite place to be for numerous reasons. But recently I learned some really nice things about living in a small town. Obviously aside from the annoying fact that everyone knows everyone and everyone knows everyone else's business but like that's life.
When I say I come from a small town, the population of cows is larger than the population of people, there is no public transportation and basically, the only thing we have is a pizza place (more than 1), a grocery store and a gas station. When I say I am from a small town, I am also from a very small region. My graduating class in high school was 80 and we came from six different towns.
It's small.
Literally, everyone knows everyone or at least they know your parents. And they say if you don't get out young, you'll be stuck here forever. And that was the last thing I wanted to do.
SO I went to college six hours away, I moved to Maine and I barely ever came home. Of course, I missed my mom and my family so much but I wasn't in this little tiny town anymore.
Fast forward 4 years….
I am a senior in college, applying to graduate school to move, again, and enjoying everything going on.
I decide to go home for fall break and spend some time with my family, especially my mom, and some friends. I was in Maine all summer and don't really get to spend much time with them, so I figured it was a nice opportunity.
Until I was in a four-car accident on the highway 2 hours away from home.
Everything had changed, I was frantically trying to figure out how to get home and my parents were just freaking out about my health and safety.
Just so everyone knows, I was not injured at all and neither was anyone else in the accident.
Anyways I get home my family had calmed down and everything was going well but now the question became how was I going to buy a new car, register it, and drive to Maine in 4 days over a holiday weekend where all the banks and DMVs were closed.
We decided to just enjoy our first day together. My mom and I had tickets to this "Octoberfest" in my hometown and we were just going to go have fun. And that is when the incredible power of a small town kicked in.
I was over two hours away from my accident and there were people I hadn't seen in years messaging me, coming up to me, hugging me and talking to me just overwhelmed with joy that I was okay. Yeah, everyone knew about the accident and my business and whatnot, but everyone also cared. There was not a single person who talked to me who was just trying to cause drama.
And then the power of a small town struck again…
My parents and I were going crazy trying to find a car for me so that I can get back to Maine because I was missing school and work and my job requires a car so I was stuck in this circle of not knowing what to do.
Until a family friend decided to lend a helping hand.
There was zero obligation from this person to help me, but they did. They lent me enough money to buy a car and are letting me pay them back monthly without the hassles and interest of a bank loan. I was able to buy a used car that I love, register it, and get back to Maine while only missing one day. All thanks to being in a small town where everyone knows everyone and we all care.
