Recently with the whole college process and meeting new people, I have had to explain my hometown of Gardner, Massachusetts several times. At Bridgewater State's freshmen orientation, I received multiple confused expressions from my fellow bears; not many people knew where Gardner was. I reflected on this city and realized that I have used the following ten statements on more than one occasion when speaking about Gardner.

1. "Well, we're not exactly the furniture capital of New England anymore."

"Oh, that's that furniture city, right?" ...not exactly.

2. "You know Fitchburg? It's like 15 minutes from there."

When someone asks me where I'm from, and I respond "Gardner," they tend to look pretty confused. So, I make their life and mine easier by giving them a rough location of Fitchburg.

3. "We have a really big chair."

The first thing I think of when I have to explain Gardner to someone is the big chair. Nothing says Chair City like the big chair outside of Helen Mae Sauter school.

4. "Well there's a lot of pizza places...and Dunkin Donuts...and grocery stores...and gas stations."

Gardner doesn't have much to do unless you're looking for a slice of pizza, a Dunkin's coffee, a grocery trip, or a full tank of gas.

5. "My high school was a doughnut."

Yes, you heard that right. Gardner High School is in the shape of a doughnut! You could never get lost in that school.

6. "Yes, our school colors are Halloween colors."

Orange and black, go wildcats!

7. "I have no idea why we call it G-Vegas."

For some reason, people call Gardner G-Vegas and I could not tell you why. You can get a G-Vegas t-shirt downtown at John's Sport Shop!

8. "Are you going to the relay?"

Gardner, MA hosts a Relay for Life every year in June. Hundreds of people from Gardner and the surrounding towns attend this event. The relay is number one in New England and number 16 in the world!

9. "We have a haunted Victorian mansion that was on Ghost Hunters."

The SK Pierce Victorian mansion in Gardner was recently taken in by new owners and renovated. You can now stay overnight and experience the house which was featured on Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventure, and My Ghost Story!

10. "I'm so happy to be home."

I love to get away from the small city of Gardner, but after being away for awhile, it feels good driving down Route 2 and seeing the Gardner sign. There's no place like home.