For 18 years, I have lived in the same little town.
A little town where everyone knows everyone. A town with only one stop light. A town where I can't work a shift at the local restaurant without someone saying, "tell your mom and dad I said hello." A town where if I missed a Sunday at church, I got a text.
A town that is just a tiny dot on the map to most, but is home to me.
To the town, that never made me feel alone, thank you.
A close-knit family community shows you that "family" doesn't always mean blood-even if most everyone is distantly related.
Family is the feeling you get when everyone asks about you and your loved ones and would drop everything to help you.
Family is your entire town rallying behind a cause. When tragedy strikes, your community is there to help you in any situation.
I am forever indebted to this little place for all the good it has done for me and others. While a lot of people leave for good, I have full intentions on coming back; to add to the tradition and family that has shown me so much love. These past 18 years.
To the town that filled me with much passion, thank you.
There are two kinds of people in small towns — those who can't wait to leave and never look back and the ones who never want to say goodbye.
I don't want to leave behind the school system that educated me, or the traditions that were always marked on the calendar.
I don't want to leave behind the uniform I wore for six-plus years as I cheered on my teammates, representing something bigger than myself.
I don't want to leave behind the high school stadium that alum and students alike flock to on Friday nights in the fall.
I don't want to leave behind the small town that has raised me, and the kind faces that make it up.
To the town that gave me my future, thank you.
In a small town, you can't escape those you are not fond of, and you'll for sure always run into an ex or your best friend's cousin. You'll pull up in front of your teacher at the stop light, and find yourself in line with your best friend's parents at the gas station. Some say they suffocate within the small city limits.
They'll say the moment they graduate high school they will leave this crappy town and never look back.
They'll go to a big city and do bigger and better things. Good for them. Not everyone likes small towns, and everyone needs to be where they will thrive best.
Leave if you feel you have to do so to grow. For me, I love the small town simplicity. The small town charm that I will forever be fond of. It's the tiny map dot in the north-west that holds my past, my present and hopefully my future.
To the small town of Waynesfield, Ohio, thank you.
Thank you for love, blue and gold, a tradition of excellence, a love of agriculture, and for molding me into a young woman who is ready to conquer college, but even more ready to return to her roots and continue the tradition.
More than a dot on the map — you're my home. Thank you.
