Growing up in a small-town didn't seem all that special until I began to experience other cities outside of my own. Moving off to college, I went from a tiny southern town where I literally knew everyone, to a little bit bigger town where I knew absolutely no one. This made me realize how much I had taken for granted throughout my years. Constantly searching for the first way out caused me to not see what perks there were to living in my small-town that I call home.

The best part of living in a small-town is knowing the in's and out's. These things you just know. You know where everyone is on a Friday night in the fall and you also just know about the local man that stands outside of the beauty shop on the corner who goes out of his way to greet others with a smile and a nice wave at everyone that passes. You know which restaurants have the best specialties. As in the local family owned one that has the amazing salad bar or the other one who has the most unique choices like a "heavenly baked potato". You know about the local artists and also one of the most famous who still has his “Paradise Garden” located here. You were always told about the crazy folklore. Especially at Halloween time you heard all of the stories of the infamous Corpsewood Manor up on the mountain. Small things that any visitor wouldn't simply know or get to experience. These unique qualities add character and makes my town so special and worthwhile.

Being in such a lowly populated area causes everyone to know everyone. At times this can seem like such an awful thing, but when it comes down to it, this just makes the town more so unite. Throughout high school, I looked at this as more so a burden than a blessing because it seemed as if everyone was constantly digging their noses in each others business. Which this is somewhat true, but with the town being so small it makes it almost impossible to not hear about absolutely everything. Whenever I would go out in public I would pray to not see anyone I knew, but now only ever seeing strangers, I would give anything to catch more familiar faces within the crowds. With such a close knit community, whenever someone is in need, the entire community joins together to help. In a city or bigger town, this wouldn't be nearly as possible.

Most may think that small-town life is absolutely terrible because you may not have things like a Starbucks on every corner, but all of the uniqueness makes it so beautiful and not so average or common. Those who live in small-towns usually cannot wait to leave, I was one of those, but now I realize how much I actually took for granted. It's not much fun seeing things that you see everywhere else. I think its pretty cool to live in a town that is so one of a kind. This makes it all so much more special and makes me extremely proud to call my town my home.