Home. That's what Wyandotte is. Ever since I was born, this is the city I lived in. I was born at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital and grew up on thirteenth street. I moved five blocks up and four blocks south, but still lived in the city I know and love. Here are seven reasons why I loved growing up in Wyandotte, Michigan.

1. The Small Community

I grew up knowing my neighbors. No, not just knowing, but being best friends with my neighbor. My childhood best friend, Alea, and I are still as close as we were back then today. Because Wyandotte is so small, we are very tight knit. When the marching band needed new uniforms, the community helped by having a silent auction for them. Many members of the community came to the event or donated what they could.

2. The Parks

The beautiful city of Wyandotte is located right on the Detroit River. You know how Sarah Palin made the "I can see Russia from my house," statement? Well the people of Wyandotte could say the same thing about Canada. Wyandotte has a gorgeous view of the Detroit River at two of our local parks. Bishop park is located right downtown and has three playgrounds that kids can play on. BASF Park is a little farther down the road, however, if you are looking for somewhere to take senior pictures or wedding pictures, that is the place to be. Among the side streets there are also many parks to take children to where they can swing on swings or hang from the monkey bars. They can even practice baseball at The Pulaski Park Baseball Fields.

3. Downtown

If you really enjoy small shops, Wyandotte is the place to go. From menswear to womenswear to baby clothes, we have many shops in our downtown area to fit everyone's needs. We also have many restaurants that always receive amazing reviews. Many of the restaurants offer outside seating so you can sit outside and look at our gorgeous downtown. These businesses like to do fundraisers with our school district. For example, Joe's Hamburgers allowed our Wyandotte DECA chapter to "take over" his restaurant for a day. Those funds allowed us to go to the International Career Development Conference in Nashville, Tennessee this past April.

4. Third Friday

Every third Friday of the month, Wyandotte has some kind of event or "theme" going on downtown. Some events include The Wine Crawl, Beer Fest, and BBQ Throwdown. You can look on Wyandotte's website wyandotte.net to see what is coming up next month.

5. Wyandotte Street Art Fair

This past July, we had our 55th Annual Street Art Fair. Wyandotte's main road downtown is closed off to all traffic. Artists from thirty states and Canada line our streets with their gorgeous work. This is a huge tourist attraction. Our Street Art Fair is one of the best among the nation.

6. Wyandotte Public Schools

I grew up going to a private elementary school. In 6th grade my parents made the decision to send me to a public school. I attended Wilson Middle School and was among the first group of sixth graders to do so. It was a big deal to me, switching from a class of 30 to a class of 300. Looking back, I see that my parents made the right choice. Wyandotte has an amazing teaching staff. Our sports team's are astounding and our music department is phenomenal. My freshmen year, our choir sang at Carnegie Hall in New York, New York. My junior year our band and choir both performed in Disney World. Back in 2008 our marching band marched in President Barrack Obama's Inauguration Parade. Our superintendent, Dr. Catherine Cost, is the most amazing woman you will ever meet. She really loves our school district and it shows through her work. I am so happy my parents made this decision for me because I wouldn't be who I am without this school.

7. Mayor Joe Peterson

Mayor Joe is the most personable man you will ever meet. He listens to the people and makes sure that the city of Wyandotte is the best downriver. He loves kids and loves visiting the schools to see how they are all doing. This city is thriving more than it ever has because of him, and for that I thank him.

Wyandotte is extremely unique. There is truly no other city like it. I am so thankful to call this city home. Going off to college made me realize how much I am going to miss this town and the people in it. But I know in my heart that I will move back to this little city someday.