For 18 years I have grown up in the same town I started in, I’ve eaten from the same restaurants down the center, went to the same market where I even worked and hung out with the same friends since we were four years old. Everyone grows up in a community that shapes them into who they are, but as we grow older, those hometowns can sometimes be overlooked. For as long as I can remember I would talk about how I can’t wait to leave this town and now I find myself saying how much I love it and hope to raise my own children here someday.

Thank you to the teachers who supported me.

As a recent graduate from Winthrop High School, I can not thank everyone enough who helped get me here today. From pre-school to Senior year, I was blessed to receive so much support in everything I chose to do. Yes, our school may not have been the most appealing to look at and walk around in, but the faculty is what made us, us. Thank you to our wonderful superintendent and principals along with our guidance counselors, coaches and teachers. Every time we thought we were going to fail or that something was not going right, they embraced us with open arms. Thank you for making high school such a great experience for me, so much so the tears could not stop falling on graduation night.

Thank you for my pride.

Whether it's the school spirit that has been instilled in me from Friday night games with our rivalry, (they who shall not be named) or how we hold ourselves together in tragedies. It makes me proud to grow up in a place that instills this sense of community and I am proud to call my home.

Thank you for my first job.

Whether it was at Winthrop MarketPlace, Parks and Recreation, a local hair salon, or babysitting, my friends and I were never left without a job.

Thank you for my morning and afternoon coffees along with my evening ice cream.

If you don’t enjoy an iced coffee from Book Depot and Center Cafe or sit in Twist and Shake for two hours eating your ice cream because there is simply nothing else to do, are you even from Wiinthrop?

Thank you for the secrets that remained unkept.

Secrets are definitely not a thing in this town. Everybody knows something about everyone. It taught me to always stay honest, even If I thought for a moment I could lie to get myself out of something, I was quickly proven wrong considering my mom would know before I had a chance to tell her.

Thank you for my life long friends who turned into family.

Honestly there's nothing quite like the friends you have when you've grown up together since preschool. Whether you’ve been close since pre-k or sophomore year, the bonds you make in this town stay around for a lifetime, I love you guys.

Thank you for being small and making me feel safe.

Growing up in a small town has allowed me the privilege of having half my family live off the same main road as me, as well as a restaurant and nail salon within walking distance. Along with growing up in a small town, I grew up in a safe town. It doesn't matter if I was walking down the courts and around the center in my middle school days or watching a scary movie with my windows open, I always felt safe here. A big part of that is also due to the caring mothers of my friends and most especially to the Winthrop Police Department, thank you.

Thank you for the sunsets and late night drives.

Everyone can agree that there is truly nothing like watching a Winthrop sunset down the Point and a late night drive with your friends listening to throwbacks that somehow brings along a sense of peace, thank you for that.

Finally, thank you for making me appreciate the little things in life.

All I wanted was to turn 18 so that I could leave, but looking back now, I’m thankful for the place that I get to call home. At some point I may have to leave, whether its for college or a job, but it's always reassuring to know that I have this amazing town, Winthrop by the Sea, to welcome me back with open arms.