I grew up in a small town, but better yet, I grew up in the middle of nowhere. Surrounded by woods and barely any other houses, I experienced things that other kids around me did not experience. While living in a place with such serenity and such privacy was absolutely amazing, there were some experiences that I missed out on during my childhood. Although I would not trade it for the world, there are five definite signs you grew up in the middle of nowhere.
1. You are not startled by wildlife.
Growing up in the woods, it was not uncommon to see deer or wild turkeys roaming around your backyard. I was always fascinated by deer as a child, and to this day, I love seeing a deer walk across my road or seeing them in the backyard. People that grew up in a popular neighborhood may be a little startled when seeing a deer on my street. It’s also not uncommon for deer to get hit by a car on my road as well, but that is a different story2. Seeing a car on your road gives you an unsettling feeling.
Driving home from a place and seeing a car behind you was, and still is, a very unsettling feeling. I remember my parents always wondering why there was a car on our road because it was a car they did not recognize. If the car did not belong to one of the neighbors or to someone that lived on our road, there was a horribly unsettling feeling about why this car was on our road.
3. You never could trick or treat in your own neighborhood.
Growing up in the middle of nowhere meant there was nowhere for the kids to trick or treat. Houses were far away from each other and it was an unspoken rule that kids do not trick or treat on our street. My parents would always have to drive my siblings and me to a crowded neighborhood for an opportunity for us to get candy!
4. You feel confused when people talk about neighborhood games.
Whenever I hear people my age talk about how much fun they had in their neighborhoods with their neighborhood friends, I feel very confused. I could not even tell you one of my neighbors names to this day. People talk about gathering all of the neighborhood kids and playing a game of “Kick The Can” and I cannot engage in this conversation because it is something I never got to experience.
5. You had to travel at least 15 minutes for the nearest grocery store.
Living in the woods meant living far away from any sort of civilization. The nearest grocery store was at least 15 minutes away and it always felt like a chore to make that trip. It was always a family trip to head to the grocery store because it was something that would take a while, due to the travel time.
While I enjoy where I grew up and know it was the best, I still recognize these signs and feel like I missed out on a little bit of a childhood. I loved living in the middle of nowhere and I will always love it. It would not surprise me if I ended up giving my future kids the same experience of living in the middle of no man’s land.
