Everyone has a hometown, a place that they come from. My small hometown of Easley, South Carolina isn't so small anymore, but I would not trade it for anything. After all, Easley is more than just a place to live; it is home. Home is a place where you can always return to and feel welcome. How many of y'all live in a small town with a big community? Easley is a place with a ton of history, family owned restaurants, and so much to do with such a great community. In my town, many people go to church and rely on God to provide for them and many have this as their family verse: "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord." - Joshua 24:15. Some people just see Easley as a football town that lives for the Friday Night Lights.

Before Easley became known and became a large community, we had to build a foundation. Easley was named after a general in the Confederate Army; his name was William King Easley. They established Easley in the late 1800s, following the convincing of the officials by General Easley to lay railroad tracks. Following the approval, they started selling plots of land. The railroad helped the textile industry take off, and it began to shape the town of Easley. In 1902, the first jail in Pickens County was built, and it is now the Pickens County Museum. Also, in 1902, the Easley Progress was founded. In 1930, the first paved highways were completed that ran from Greenville to all over Pickens County. In 1941, World War II began and the population of Pickens County was 37,000. In the year 2003, the population of Pickens County was 113,097. The city today is 10.66 square miles of land and has a population of 19,993 according to the 2010 census; it probably has since then gone up.

There are many places to eat in Easley; however, there are many family owned restaurants. There is this one restaurant that is a go-to for many people in Easley, it is called Joe's. Joe's serves a wide variety of food, such as chicken tenders, smiley fries, and hamburger steak. After you finish your meal there, there are the different types of ice cream they have. My go-to when I eat there is strawberry! Of the other family owned restaurants, the best one now has a new face as 2Bros Pizza. 2Bros was formally known as Michaels Pizzeria; however, due to a fire and many setbacks they decided it would be best for the sons to open up their own pizza place. Following the opening of 2Bros, it rapidly outgrew its building and is still gaining popularity today. Their pizza is the way pizza should be made! Finally, Jimmy’s is a very family-oriented restaurant as well. When you walk into the restaurant, you automatically feel welcome and like you should be there. The best part of my childhood is when my grandparents would take me every Saturday. Following our meal every weekend, I was able to get one dumdum sucker, and my love for the blue raspberry ones was born. There are many popular family-owned restaurants but, I do not have enough time to talk about all of them! If you want to know about more places in Easley feel free to ask me!!

There is so much to do in Easley. We have many events for almost every holiday. Every Christmas, we have a parade that you do not want to miss (because you most likely know a ton of people in it). The 4^th of July festival is energetic and full of things to do for all ages. The best part of the night is the fireworks! If you sit in the right part of Easley, you can see the firework shows from 4 different places. Easley is a very community-oriented and you can always find a friend or two that you can rely on for almost everything. Every Saturday, during the summer we have movies at our amphitheater. There are many movies that play downtown (the most recent being Star Wars). I have experienced many of the movies at the amphitheater and they have all been great experiences because, through that, I have made many friends. Another great thing to do since the release of Pokémon is to go downtown and play. Through that, I have seen people that I thought I would never see again. Since Easley is so close to the mountains, we have access to numerous waterfalls, rivers, lakes, and hiking trails. The outdoors really create endless adventures. Also, for those that enjoy running, cycling, or just walking, we have a trail called the "Doodle Trail" where you can go from Easley to Pickens and back. Every year at the beginning of August, Easley gets the opportunity to host the Big League World Series. That event is a great way to get out and support your community and others in it!

From the Friday night lights to the days spent with many of my friends, Easley is the place to be. The wonderful small town of Easley isn’t so small anymore! I am forever an Easley girl, regardless of where God calls me.