I didn’t realize how much I loved growing up in Marysville, Ohio until I was actually grown up, or at least grown up enough to appreciate things I had taken for granted my entire childhood. When someone asks where I’m from and I respond with, “Marysville.” I usually have to reiterate my answer to, “It’s a medium sized town 45 minutes Northwest of Columbus.” But it’s so much more than a medium sized town 45 minutes Northwest of Columbus. I have so many things to thank Marysville for but for now I hope this list will do my hometown justice.

Thank you, Marysville, for wonderful teachers.

Starting with the wee-little elementary school days my teachers had the most patient hearts; they taught me my ABCs, picked me up when I fell after my crush tripped me and broke my arm in gym class, and graciously scolded me when I was caught looking at someone else’s spelling test when I was struggling to spell the word “exercise.” There’s also my poor middle school teachers that had to deal with everyone’s ugly phases, you know those years when you have a ridiculous amount of acne, a mouth full of metal, and you barely know how to dress yourself. Bless their hearts. Lastly, the group at Marysville High School that taught me that you actually aren’t cool just because you’re in high school, that 70 percent of my behavior would definitely not be acceptable in the “real world”, and that the future was something to be excited about rather than terrified of.

Thank you, Marysville, for introducing me to my favorite people.

Marysville has an astounding amount of quality people in its population. Whether it be strangers, acquaintances or best friends, everybody loves everybody. From strangers who stop to let you pet their dogs, acquaintances that would do anything for you with the drop of a hat, and best friends that will last a life time, everyone is capable of putting a smile on anyone’s face.

Thank you, Marysville, for being medium-sized.

Marysville isn’t too small and it isn’t too large, either. You can get anywhere you want to be in five minutes or under, there’s hardly a need for the word "traffic," and it has everything you need. It’s small enough that you feel like you know everyone, but big enough that there is always someone more to meet, which saves the town from boredom.

4. Thank you, Marysville, for Friday nights that lived up to the hype.

When it's football Friday night, the entire town knows its football Friday night. Win or lose, everyone is always 100 percent proud to be a Monarch. The energy of students getting out of school for the weekend, the crisp autumn breeze, and the beauty of the scoreboard lighting up with a win are some of the best feelings.

5. Thank you, Marysville, for proving that when a community comes together, anything can happen.

If you want proof that anything can happen when a community comes together look no further than Marysville, Ohio. A young man, Devon Burke, was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, an extremely rare form of bone cancer, in November 2013. He was almost halfway through his sophomore year at Marysville High School when he started having pain in his right shin. He went to the doctor many times and was diagnosed with shin splints multiple times until they found the root of the problem.

Devon was given a 70 percent chance of survival when they found the tumor, and he went through chemo for about a year. They replaced his entire shin with a metal rod and a cadaver bone and he was cancer free in September 2014. He can’t run, play football, or do many of the things we take for granted. In December 2015, he started feeling pain in his left shoulder. Devon tried to diagnose himself with anything, but cancer,;he was convinced that it was only a shoulder impingement.

He went to the doctor and they took an X-ray that showed that nothing was wrong, but Devon told the doctors that he knew this pain. After an MRI, they found another tumor. This time, the doctors gave Devon only a 30 percent chance of survival. A few weeks later, Devon started feeling pain in his right hip bone and another tumor was discovered. Devon now has cancer in two different locations and his chances of survival have dropped to 20 percent.

At the age of 18 years old, this is hard to come to terms with and something most people could never understand. Devon is incredible, strong, and open-minded and hasn’t let anything of this set him behind. A month after he first got diagnosed, Devon Stephen, decided she wanted to help. She came up with the idea to get everyone in Marysville High School to wear blue, Devon’s favorite color. It was a huge success, the English teachers started raising money for Devon and his family of six and ABC 6 came to Marysville to cover the day and share his message. Schools all over central Ohio began to support Blue4Burke.

Devon Stephen explained it as a time she’ll never forget, “The community came together in ways I didn’t even think were possible. I just thought having people wear blue would make Devon smile, but the awareness has spread and touched so many people’s lives. The hashtag “#Blue4Burke” grew through social media tremendously and when people hear it now they think of Devon, childhood cancer, and Ewing’s sarcoma. I am very proud of our city and everyone in it. Devon is extremely thankful for what everyone has done for him in the community.”

If you’d like to show your support for this one-of-a-kind soul, you can sign up for Blackburn Chasing the Cure’s Red, White, and Blue4Burke 5K. Blackburn chasing the cure is donating all proceeds from the event towards Devon’s medical expenses and education goals. Devon wants to become a nurse practitioner so that he can make a positive impact in the lives of his patients, as his nurses have done for him. To sign up, please visit the Facebook page Blue4Burke.

6. Thank you, Marysville, for being beautiful.

No matter how many times you walk, bike, or drive through downtown Marysville there is always another beautiful house with a beautiful garden that you haven’t noticed the first 100 times you’ve been downtown. There’s always a million more reasons to fall in love with Marysville.

7. Thank you, Marysville, for providing a safe community.

I’ve gotten my fair share of speeding tickets and friendly warnings, but they were all well deserved. The law enforcement and the community do a tremendous job of keeping Marysville safe. There’s never a time when you have to walk around feeling unsafe or weary and in this day and age, that is something to be forever grateful for.

8. Thank you, Marysville, for keeping it local.

Marysville’s small shop vibe is still alive and that is a rarity that I hope will always survive here. If you want to meet up for coffee, 5th Street Cafe will brew you a cup made with love. If you have a sweet tooth, the Ribbon Box has a selection of the best cupcakes you’ll ever taste. Our newest joint is Leon’s Garage and all I’ll say is you’re in for a treat if you choose to watch the next game in their welcoming seats. And, drumroll please, Benny’s pizza has the cheesiest and best one of kind pizza cut in squares you’ll ever taste (best served side by side with their home made root beer).

9. Thank you Marysville for the hang out spots.

I’ve broken my arms at Marysville parks, I’ve gone on really awkward middle school dates all over Marysville, and now I follow my parents to trivia at all sorts of spots across the town. You can finds parks, paths, pools, whatever you’re in the mood for within the confines of Marysville, Ohio. It truly does save a lot of gas money and I am thankful for that, especially now that I have a sad $7 in my bank account.

10. Lastly, thank you Marysville for the memories.

There’s also a list of things that I miss dearly about Marysville: The Skating Palace where we went for latchkey every day in elementary school; the movie theater where I had my first kiss; my favorite Chinese restaurant to this day, Jerry’s House of Hunan. All of these places will forever have a place in my heart and I’m always praying for a comeback of all three.

Thank you, Marysville, for being so much more than a medium-sized town Northwest of Columbus.