It was December of 2008 when I woke up to a powerless and bitter house, entrapped by layers of ice. I remember struggling against my front door, attempting to crack the thick ice that coated every inch of my house. Lifting my head to see life outside, I only saw white, shimmering blankets- crystallized snow and water covered everything in sight.
For about seven days, thousands of people across New England were left without electricity. This unexpected ice storm marked a record, for the streets were too hidden to plow and the ice was too strong to crack.
Maybe you have never visited New England or even had an interest in going, but it has the most bipolar weather. Despite the countless freezing nights and unbearable snowstorms, I miss living in New England- in particular, New Hampshire.
As an eight-year-old growing up in such a small, rural area, there really was not much to do. My friends and I relied on stuffed animals and iMovie in order to distract ourselves from boredom. Even though New Hampshire seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere, the isolation compelled me to be creative, compelled me to be social, compelled me to formulate relationships that were strong enough to open my front door back in 2008.
Perhaps you have experienced living in a small town, where everyone knows you by your last name. Teachers know your older siblings (sometimes this is a bad thing), you carry the same reputation forever, and everyone knows everyone. Yes, at times we can all agree this gets old, but the friends I made have not changed; these people hold much significance in my life and have morphed me into the character that I have become.
For the first ten years of my life, I lived in a town that held a population of about 7500 people. My neighborhood acquired a title called, “The Hood,” consisting of protective fathers, affectionate mothers, obnoxious boys, and tough girls. This “Hood” was surrounded by mountainous views, blue skies, and forest floors.
Maybe you have had the opportunity to live in a small town, where many surrounding families grow so close with one another that you start referring to them as family. In “The Hood,” I have never seen such a tight group of people; we suffered losses and experienced heartbreak, but those incidences strengthened our relationships with one another, it forced us to rely on one another for support- we needed one another for courage and comfort.
The most memorable times were the ones spent together- crowding on top of a hill, defrosting our bodies through the warmth of the bonfire. We spent hours on top of that hill, laughing, singing, and just talking to one another. I remember looking forward to those relaxing nights, waiting for the sun to go to sleep and the fire to ignite. Once I saw one spark, I sprinted towards that hill as fast as I could.
I think that if I had lived anywhere else that was just a bit more urbanized, I would not have been able to experience the greatness of “The Hood.” New Hampshire is a place where you have to individually stay active, rather than go to places for entertainment. We formulated such an intense bond simply because of our loyalty to the neighborhood. The families involved in “The Hood” spent time with one another and truly captured the essence of the quote, “Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.” –Woodrow T. Willson
Be thankful if you have resided in a small town- not many people have the opportunity to grow with the same faces for years and years. These relationships are the bonds that have so much force that even the infamous ice storm back in 2008 cannot resist them.
