I've lived in Watertown, Wisconsin my entire life. When I meet people for the first time and they tell me about where they grew up, where they're from or all of the moves they embarked on - not just a new street, but a new state entirely - I nod tiredly as I think about my response in contrast. "Nope", I say. "I've lived in Watertown all my life . . . nowhere else. Born and raised". I feel like I'm so boring, and I feel like my life is boring because I'm from a boring as all get out place. I want to be that person who has moved from town to town, to state to different state with all these adventurous stories. Okay, maybe not that crazy - but at least it's something. I'm from this small little town stuck right between places like Oconomowoc and Lake Mills. When I tell people that I'm from Watertown, they tend to cringe a little bit and I can literally feel the sympathetic vibes radiating off of them. And then, there are those weird nut-jobs who say "Watertown isn't that bad". What? Are you crazy!? I guess you could say that I really know what there is to expect (or more, not to expect) when you've grown up in a smaller (and even Midwestern) town like I have. If any of you are reading this and a little light-bulb pops up that goes "Yes. Yes. Yes.", then you understand my agony. We can all band together in self-pity and start a club for people who were born and raised in small, boring as ever towns.

1. There is basically nothing to do.

BOREDOM. Again, I repeat, boredom. When I was younger however, growing up in Watertown wasn't all that bad. But I guess that's because there were more things that appealed to me. I was simple, and all I wanted to do was color and play outside. However, as I got older, the town seemed more like a dead-end to freedom and fun, and I craved excitement. I figured out that there was nothing to do in my small hometown - nothing but fast food restaurants and poorly ran businesses and boutiques on main-street that were sketchy to say the least, and not all that interesting. Needless to say, small towns are like soul suckers. They literally suck out the fun, and it's easier to get antsy and impatient.

2. And if you want to do something fun, it usually results in your crew hanging out at Taco Bell or Walmart - that is, if you have either or both.


Sad, I know. If my friends and I were going to hang out, we would just drive around aimlessly, wasting a bunch of gas, blasting our music and talking about anything and sometimes nothing. We wanted something to do, but honestly, there wasn't much. So, it became kind of a subconscious routine to say "Hey, want to go to Walmart?" and boom. We would go on "Walmart escapades", wandering up and down the horrible florescent lit aisles. I remember one of my first dates being a Dollar General. Like, what? Really? Other times, it would be hanging out at Taco Bell. Seriously, that was the funnest thing to do in town sometimes. And pretty soon, that's where all my friends and I would end up hanging out.


3. There's a lot of bars... and they're trashy if you don't mind me saying.

So I've walked down main-street, and it's decked out with bars left and right. (and churches, I must add. A lot of churches) It's kind of excessive, and I guess I wouldn't care if they were semi-decent bars. Instead, they are super ghetto and dirty looking, and the people that are usually there are creepy older people who stare at you when you're walking past the bars. Every time I hear someone tell me that they're going down to the bars, I wonder "How? They're so gross". And . . . terribly shady.


4. Everybody knows everybody. Literally.

Let's just say that when you and your boyfriend break up, you'll see them. Everywhere. Most likely. And they won't be able to really disappear until they leave said small town. It's a sad thing to grasp, but uh, yeah. In other instances, your cousin who is best friends with your friend, happens to know your ex-boyfriend's little sister, and their boyfriend has a sister who used to be on the swim team with you in high school. And yadda yadda yadda. It's a small world. There's no escaping it.


5. It's a more "older person" community.

Let's see . . . if I had to estimate the approximate percentage, I would say that Watertown (or most small towns, it seems) are made up of about 60 percent of older folks, and 30 percent of whatever else there is. I'm just kidding - I honestly don't know for a fact. But let's just put it this way. When it comes to small towns, it's known to be a more "older person" community, which makes sense. It's quiet, simple, and everyone knows each other from church. I see so many seniors in my hometown that it's insane. It's almost like there has been an elderly breakout or something. Now what's better than that? *starts to fall asleep*

6. People tend to be VERY cliquey.


Because your hometown is smaller, and people tend to get to know each other pretty quickly, they become extremely close knit - at least that's how it was for me. I knew who my "crowd" or whatever was, and even though I was more of a "floater", I stuck with them and only them. It was like we were all put into these little pods according to our personalities. I know that's basically anywhere, but in small towns, it's that only escalated because everyone is so close within those groups. Don't try and get in with the stoner crowd, because it won't work. don't talk to the "pretty popular cheer leading girls" because they are all best friends and have inside jokes that you'll never understand. Don't try and get in with the more tough, mean girls because they'll just judge you and it'll be a waste of your time. Might as well just stick to what you know and the people you are already close to. And this doesn't just happen in high school. It happens all throughout the town, including all ages of people. Like I said before, it just has to do with being so close knit and finding that certain crowd and growing close to one another. So many cliques, so little time.

7. People tend to have a "herd like" mentality.

People tend to follow what someone has told them and they don't question it. Because these cliques can be super, super tight, branching out or rebelling is just out of the question most of the time. It all becomes a somewhat boring, monotonous routine.

8. If you try to be quirky or stand out, you either get ostracized, made fun of, or both.

"Watertown isn't ready for a girl like you, Julia". This basically goes with number seven. If you try to be different, eccentric, weird, what have you, you will be looked at hardcore, and you'll feel like you're being put under a microscope. Trust me, I know. When I was a teenager, I would dress differently, and sometimes I would copy styles out of Elle Magazine. I should have known better (but I didn't care) because Watertown wasn't ready for a cool, chic, sophisticated runway look. My school's style consisted of anything sport related, North Face sweaters, moccasins, sweat pants, camo anything, and straightening their hair. I would come to school wearing crazy, bright colored dresses straight out of Teen Vogue, with high heels and my hair curled or in side-wayspony tails. People would stare. People would comment. People would constantly asking why I was wearing what I was wearing. Bottom line: If you're going to dress like Serena Van Der Woodsen or Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl, you're bound to get a lot of attention - negative and positive. (I got mostly negative)

9. When you come back, you run into everyone you ever went to high school with and it's awkward.


And I swear - if you go to Walmart (especially during the holidays) that's where basically everyone congregates. So there is always this anxious voice in my head that's telling me to keep my head down when I walk into Walmart, or go to the gas station, or anything like that - I am afraid of running into that one chick I kind of knew in my Foundations class sophomore year. Or what about the guy you were "kinda-sorta" friends with for a couple of years in your Spanish class? Do you say "hi"? or walk away? Agh, the decisions, the choices, the absolute awkwardness! I can't begin to tell you how many people I have spotted and/or ran into during my Christmas break thus far. The other day, I saw this girl who used to be my best friend in grade school who got instantaneously popular in high school. We made weird eye-contact and I just continued doing what I was doing. Psh, why should I smile at you? You acted too cool for me in high school, anyway".


10. ...and it seems like everyone has either gotten married or had a kid...

The couple who was nominated "cutest couple ever" in the high school yearbook from Freshman year, is still together, and you just found out they're getting married. When you go onto Facebook, you see that the really sweet girl you hung out with Junior year is now knocked up, and her and her boyfriend are getting married as soon as possible. And that other couple who was together for years in high school? Well, they did get married, but ended up getting a divorce only six months in. WHAT? You think to yourself, "The things I got going on in my life are quiet opposite. Deciding what to watch next on Netflix, and getting through another semester with good grades". Or, sometimes I like to say to myself "Oh my god, Julia. You're twenty-one. You're twenty-one and you're not married yet. You don't even have a boyfriend! Your clock is ticking! You're getting SO OLD. AAAAHHHHHHHHHH".

Small towns are tough. For young people, and for older people - but mostly for younger people because we want to branch out, do more things and our ambitions and goals start to broaden incredibly so. It's easy to feel stuck in such a dead-end kind of place - a place where Taco Bell is the "hot spot" to be in high school. (Again, if Taco Bell is the funnest place in your hometown, there's something not right) But we all seem to get through it, especially the ones who end up leaving and moving on to bigger and better things. We endure the awkward run-ins, the nights moaning in boredom because there is literally nothing to do, having to endure hearing about your ex-boyfriend a million times a week for awhile, and if you're an individual, it's tough swaying towards what's "not normal" and truly embracing being different because it seems like such a crime. Sometimes small towns are preferred over bigger towns. Me? I'm the absolute opposite.