Small towns are small. They are small in a variety of ways. First, they are geographically small. They are also small in the number of people that live there. This often means the number of stores is relatively small. The opportunities are small. The social circles are small. If you're catching the trend, small towns are small.
Growing in up in a small town 30 minutes from Charlottesville, Virginia, I thought I had it all, I thought I knew it all, and I thought I needed so much more. As my high school graduation approached, I could not wait to go off to college and leave all of those people in the dust. After all, it was just a small town and small towns suck.
I got out of that small town and into a world filled with people from all over. People from big cities, people from other countries, and people from other small towns chasing the same dreams and running from the same small-town people. I had found what I was looking for -- something more. I was no longer in a place where everything was small. There were more social circles, more stores, more people, and more opportunities. Everything that I had never been exposed to, I finally had at my disposal.
Throughout my first three years of college, I never let any of this newfound opportunity pass me by. I met as many people as I could, joined as many social circles as possible, and visited every store I had never been too. This didn't suck, this wasn't small, this was what I always wanted.
But was it what I really wanted? After a while, I felt myself getting lost. Large social circles, large amounts of people, and large geographic areas seemed to begin to swallow me whole. I knew that is what I wanted, but I also knew I was missing something.
I was missing the small town comfort. Something that I had always overlooked growing up in a small town. That feeling you get when you walk into your local Kroger and see 12 people you know. The comfort you get from getting half off ice cream at Dairy Queen because your mom did the cashier's hair that day. The feeling of knowing that you could see the doctor at any time because they grew up playing football with your neighbor. I was missing that.
Small towns are small. They are small in a variety of ways. They don't take up much space, everyone knows each other, and high school football rivals Jesus sometimes. Small towns don't suck. My small town made me who I am today. Those small town people groomed me and helped shape me into a young adult who is ready to take on the big towns and the big world. Although I won't go back to my small town, I will be forever grateful for those people who believed and continue to believe in me. Small towns are small, but the people make them bigger than any city you'll ever visit.
I'm thankful for my small, small town.
