Have you heard of the song "Welcome to the Fishbowl" by Kenny Chesney? GO LISTEN RIGHT NOW.
Ok now that we’re all on the same page about this song, I can tell you this song perfectly describes the small town that I grew up in. Don’t think I’m complaining about living in this small town, in fact I want to praise it, it has shaped me into the person I am today. This summer my small town was named the coolest small town in America. I mean sure there are way smaller towns than our majestically beautiful small town in Northern Minnesota, but mine’s the coolest.
No one ever believes me that the closest McDonalds, Target, Mall, Movie theater, etc is two hours away. I really learned not to take this town for granted, I’d much rather be swimming in an lake than being cooped up in a mall shopping. I mean don’t get me wrong I love shopping, but I would take being out on the lake, or outside in the snow with my friends and family any day, which is something that I’ve learned to appreciate growing up in this town where there’s not much to do.
I got to graduate in a tight knit class that was practically my other family made up of 54 kids, ( the class above us graduated with 28), we buy our Christmas trees at the local gas station, there is no where to get food to go after 9 unless you want to go to the gas station but you better hurry because they close at 10, away games for school consist of at least an hour to a three hour bus drive, there’s a high school hang out spot that has been used as the hangout spot since my parents were teenagers: “the point”, and almost every single person is related to one another. When we make it to state for the first time in a blue moon are town comes A L I V E; police escorting the team buses, a fundraiser that made 3,000 dollars for the team to go to state in just under 24 hours. Talk about the community coming together.
Sure living in a small town can make you want to run away and never look back because your secrets and personal problems are always being run through the line of the small town gossip, but with that small town gossip, you can always count on so many people having your back and being there for you. YOU ARE NOT ALONE in a small town.
My town makes me so happy, especially coming home from college after being away for months, it’s one of the best feelings crossing that county line. Growing up in a small town has been such a blessing; the beautiful mass amounts of fall leaves, the frosty snowflakes, the shining sun over the lighthouses in our harbor, and even the dirtiest piles of mud; I am always in awe of the beautiful small town that is and always will be my home.
