Hailing from a town of 5,000 people, I know all the struggles of being from a small town. Chances are, Wal-Mart is the closest thing you have to a mall. So really, it’s all you’ve got in terms of a “hang out” area. And chances are, you find yourself hanging out in the Wal-Mart parking lot, like it’s a thing.
Being from a small town, I know how hard it is to find things to do, so hanging out at Wal-Mart really isn’t that strange, trust me. Or at least in your cars, jamming. When you do go to Wal-Mart, you most likely will run into that one person you’re trying to avoid. You’ll probably run into them in multiple places, actually.
When you bring your college friends home for the weekend, after the third stoplight they’re expecting more, but that’s literally all there is to the town. Three stoplights, that’s it. In high school, if you had an older sibling-whatever their reputation was, is now yours. For some this works to their advantage, for others it definitely doesn’t.
Another pro or con of having an older sibling is that all the teachers will know who you are-and decide to call you your actual name, or just confuse you with your older sibling. Fun, right? If you ride the bus, chances are you rode the same one for years, and you know the bus driver by name. This same bus and bus driver probably taught you everything about life, true story.
Your neighbors know everything about you, and you know everything about them. And you probably don’t lock your doors, which sounds dangerous, but it doesn’t really matter because if someone broke in, you’d probably know them. You went to school with almost everyone in your graduating class ever since kindergarten, and know all of their families, naturally.
If you’re on a sports team, literally the entire town knows your name. “Famous in a small town” is so true, especially when the newspaper comes out, since you’ve probably graced the cover several times. Since you know everyone, your arm probably gets tired from waving at everyone you pass going down main street, which I might add is about three blocks long.
If you’re really religious or love going to different hair stylist, a small town has a never-ending amount of these. But there’s probably more hair salons than churches, which is hard to believe. Since there’s nothing to do, you seem to find yourself driving aimlessly around, a lot. There are usually a few restaurants in small towns, but you probably only go to the same three. Oh, and you know everyone that works there too.
Although hunting isn’t everyone’s thing, “deer fever” seems to be a valid school absence excuse. Literally nothing in a small town is a secret. It’s funny too, because everyone assumes that someone else’s business is his or her business too. Whatever you did last night, don’t ever doubt that your mom knows-probably before you even know.
If you get out, you’re one of the lucky ones. The others will either get married or pregnant. Or both. Not that this is a bad thing, it’s just part of being from a small town. I can’t say I agree with this, but no matter how much people diss their small towns, they secretly love them and have no intention of ever leaving. It’s true.
