It seems as though everyone thinks that they come from a small town these days. I talk to people almost on a daily basis that tell me they had a small graduating class and that in the town that they live, everyone knows each other. Many people who say these things believe that because of the said "small town" where they live, that they are being neglected from opportunities that other people in larger towns get to have. I am here to rebuke those thoughts.

I grew up in a bigger town (around 9,000), not huge by any means, but bigger none the less. My grade school classes typically consisted of around 30 and by the time we got to middle school and all the grade schools combined, we had a pretty decently sized class. It wasn't until my sophomore year of high school I was moved to a new town... well, village, population approximately 300, which obviously also included a new school. In my class we started with 15 kids and by graduation time, we had 11 kids walking in graduation. Yes you read that right, 11 kids, and no, it is not a private school.

It seems that as soon as I tell people where I come from, it's automatically assumed to be a bad thing, but this small town has been nothing short of a blessing to me, despite how much I complain about it. Since I moved, I have received endless chances and opportunities. When I first moved, I too was under the impression that this town had nothing to hold for me and that living here would never help me accomplish anything in life, but realistically, opportunities to grow, learn, and take advantage of are everywhere, you just have to seek them out and take every one that life hands you.

My first year in this new town, I was nominated to attend a leadership seminar at a college in Wisconsin for a few days over the summer. Looking back I thought nothing of it, but this nomination was made by my new teachers who had barely had the chance to get to know me yet, or so I thought. Every year since I moved has been richly filled with volunteer hours, clubs, sports, jobs, sports coaching and so much more - things that at my old school I know I would have never been involved with because of how many kids I had in my class. When I graduated, I held the titles of class president, student council president, SADD president, and treasurer of my school's National Honors Society. In addition, I was fortunate enough to receive a number of local scholarships and let me tell you, NONE of these things came easily. I had to work my tail off for everything I earned in high school, the only thing that was handed to me were the chances to make things happen. In fact It was everything but easy; time consuming, frustrating, difficult, tedious, but most importantly it was worth it.

Opportunities in life are more than abundant, they're endless, no matter if you come from a town of 5,000 or 50. The problem is not that there is no chances where you live, the problem is that not everyone wants to work hard for things. People these days are so used to having things handed to them that they have become strangers to hard work. Before you go assuming that where you live is terrible, look around and ask yourself if you're taking full advantage of the things that are being offered to you. It is said that the world helps those who help themselves; if you want something, go get it; if it's not happening, make it happen. Life is too short to pass up opportunities that have the potential to help you grow as a person and a leader, so don't be afraid to work a little harder and longer. I promise it's all worth it in the end.