Now, when I say "village", I don't mean the stereotypical pitchforks and bonnets. Well... kind of. The very small town of Sheffield, Pennsylvania only has a population of 1,386 people, even though I feel like I only see the same 60 people. And since the population is so small, it is actually classified as a village. So, what could possibly be beneficial about living in a village with only 1.3 square miles?
Knowing Everyone and Everyone Knowing You. I know how unappealing that sounds, but it has actually helped me. There have been a few occasions when applying for jobs that if I didn't know the owner, I don't know if I actually would have gotten the job. Also, getting away with a lot without getting the cops involved. I can't exactly get into a lot of detail about it, but a very good and innocent example would be that I actually didn't know that my small town had a curfew until I was about 17 years old because I was friends with the one cop in town. That's right, we only have ONE cop in Sheffield.
Academics. Honestly, it's only beneficial because there's way less competition for scholarships. What made it even better was that half of my class, which consisted of about 47 kids, didn't even apply for scholarships. Not only that, but we were able to easily impeach our class president junior year of high school with basically no resistance because we all like the same things. No seriously, it's very easy to get us all to agree on something.
The Environment. Now, this may be a little biased, since I don't live in a big city so I don't really see the benefits of it. But, I say the environment because we don't have big roads and lots of traffic to create a lot of litter or noise. When I come home from Bridgewater State University, the silence from the absence of cars is what I look forward to. Plus, I don't see trash bags on the side of the road and McDonald's cups littering the sidewalk. The winter season is especially quiet because the wildlife is either south for the winter or hibernating. I actually enjoy shoveling my driveway because it's so peaceful and I'm only left with my breathing and thoughts.
Town Get-Togethers. These consists of the yearly Johnny Appleseed festivals, Fireman's festivals, and even protests. I include these because at the festivals it's very heart-warming to basically be surrounded by people you know and a majority of them actually care about your well-being. I mean, very rarely am I at a festival and see someone I don't at least indirectly know. And about the protest thing, we don't ever protest about anything. My town is so small, there's very rarely anything to disagree about. But, there was one time where the whole community came together in protest against my school shutting down. We even had days in school that were just purely pep rallies and assemblies about "sticking it to the man" about keeping our school open. And when it came time to meet with the superintendent so many people from my town showed up that there were people outside passing around what was happening inside.
Local Food. When someone mentions organic foods, the first thing that comes to my mind is how expensive it can be to buy it, especially here in Mass. But, back at home, it's not as expensive as you'd think. Sure, we don't have certain foods growing due to the mountainous environment, but certain things are more abundant in Pennsylvania than here, and it really makes a difference. Plus, you really know where your food is coming from when you go down to the farmers' market, because like I said earlier, everyone knows everyone. Something that is very abundant where I live which actually comes fairly cheap is... drum roll please... Christmas trees! Not what you were expecting right? I only noticed this because my friends and I were discussing putting up Christmas decorations. I was told that a majority of Massachusetts gets their trees imported, while in Sheffield, people just have acres of land and they'll just decide to sell the trees to clear the land, so the trees are usually pretty cheap. Another thing that I have experienced about local produce is that there's a blueberry field on top of the mountain across from me (yes you read that right) that my mother picks at. And because everyone knows everyone, the man is nice enough not to charge my mother full price, and in return, she brings him the blueberry muffins she makes with the blue berries.
Now even though there are a few benefits to living in a small town, I can understand why some people may not agree with me. Living in a small town has just as many downfalls, like everyone knowing your business. It took me about five years to master keeping my private life private. Now, unfortunately that came with some set backs, but for me they were worth it. Something I had to do was delete my Facebook. That's right, I haven't had a Facebook in about six years. Something else I had to learn to do is keep my mouth shut with just about everything. My friends back in Sheffield probably couldn't even tell you what my favorite color is. To be honest, it was very hard not letting someone in, but I saw first hand what would happen if people knew you a little too well. And my friends at college would probably tell you that it's a serious problem I have with opening up and being vulnerable. But, being private did not hinder my social life. I wouldn't say I was popular, but I know a lot of people, old and young. I went to my first huge party freshman year of high school and I was the youngest person there, so there's your proof.
Something else that people may argue is that there isn't a lot of options when it comes to your love life and they are correct. I knew a guy who basically dated a whole friend group, which ended very badly by the way.
Despite these setbacks, I still am proud to say that I was raised in the village of Sheffield, Pennsylvania, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I have incredible experiences and stories to tell my friends about and I think it's given me a better world view and skills that my friends don't have. For instance, I know how to treat wildlife right, and how to fix cars and be sustainable. So please, don't knock it before you try it. And to those who have tried it, can you honestly disagree with everything I've said?
Yes, this is literally how big my village is.
