Small town life

Am I not considered normal because I live in a small town? Am I less of a human being because my town is 20,000 strong instead of 200,000? Why is it that life in America seems to revolve around large metropolitan towns, when the majority of our population is in small rural towns? The answer to these questions is as varied as the population of our great nation.

I was born in this small town and I have lived my entire life to date within a ten mile radius of my current address. I have never wanted to live anywhere else other than where I am. I like the atmosphere of a small town life. Almost everybody knows everybody else and nothing is ever a secret. The highlight of the week is the printing of the local newspaper which gives all the details – in nauseaum – of last week’s main news. The main problem with a weekly newspaper is that the news is always old news. There is no way to keep current with news if the paper is only printed once a week. But you feel like you miss something if you don’t read the entire paper cover to cover.

I have always been an introverted person and I think this contributes itself to small town life. I don’t enjoy being in large groups of people and I don’t enjoy going into huge stores. I’m the small town corner market kind of girl instead of the city size warehouses that offer you everything your little hear desires. I just don’t want to get my heart’s desire from a box store; my heart’s desire is still part of my dreams and dreams are something you can’t shop for in a store.

I love my small house; I like that everything is on one floor. I don’t think I could ever be happy living on the 32nd floor of some New York highrise. I like to open the windows on pretty days and I rarely ever lock my doors when I’m home alone during the day; these are definite disadvantages if you live in the city. I love mowing my yard and pruning my plants and shrubs; the only greenery you have in cities is at the park. I like being able to walk down Main Street and stopping to talk with the people I see; again, a near impossibility in a large city.