Welcome to Smalltown, USA - where the big things to do on the weekend are going to see the new film at the movie theater or going with your friends to the skating rink (which hasn’t been redecorated since 1992). We have a bunch of little boutiques that everyone window shops in, but rarely ever purchases anything. It is amazing those shops even stay open. Oh, did you want to go to one of the 10 restaurants in town? Yeah, we probably know the owner, and the manager and the chef. For better or worse, this is life in a small town. You will be gravely disappointed if you wanted to see anything after 8:30 p.m. The closest thing we have to nightlife is the gas station market with it’s bright white and red sign shining against the almost pitch-black sky. This may imply that we are simple, but there is more here than meets the eye.
There are so many songs and books about small towns. Songwriters and authors romanticize the familiarity of the town and the rural folk living there. Most think we all live on farms and while many do, it is not a “small town requirement.” Unlike the ideas of these writers, the familiarity between people in a small town is weird, to be completely honest. We can’t go to the store without running into at least one person who wants to chat. We stay for a while and then insist on catching up at a later date, even though we never make plans. On top of this, everyone knows way too much about each other’s lives. If any family drama or high school breakups happen, you can be sure everyone in town will know by the end of the week (if not by the end of the day). This reality causes most young adults to move away. There are so many things they have not seen. Anonymity seems like the greener side of the grass. These same people will more likely than not move back to Smalltown when they want to raise a family. This is because they realize that there are certain values only we, Smalltownians, hold.
We have the small town events that fans of the Gilmore Girls would be familiar with. We have festivals, markets, and carnivals in between tree-lighting ceremonies and parades. Our fairs are as small as they come. You could circumvent them three times within 20 minutes if you so desired. The lack of attractions in a small town means that most of us know how to have fun without them. We don’t need a mall to walk around in or laser tag to play (although they sound like fun things to do). All we need is some time, barely any money and our friends. You will find that Smalltownians will be content walking around on a sunny day or staying in when the rain comes. At high school football games, the stands are filled. Even those of us who are not that into sports will come and support the local team. We are always up for adventures, even if that means ending up in the mud or out in the middle of nowhere.
Smalltown, USA is beautiful. We may not have the most updated downtown or shiniest buildings, but the views are spectacular. The only thing that beats watching the sun set over a slow, small town, are the stars you see once that hot sun has set.
