Living in a Small Town

I grew up in a small town - with a high school graduating class of 125 students, it was sometimes suffocating. By fifth grade, I almost knew every single student in my class, and all of the roles and stereotypes were set. I couldn't wait to leave - not that it was particularly uncomfortable for me, but I just needed something more. A small town in the country's smallest state was not for me.

I went to college, studied abroad, moved to Boston, lived in the Seattle suburbs, went back to Boston, and settled there. After seeing a man urinate in the street at noon near my apartment, my then fiance and I decided to move to the suburbs since we were about to settle down.

So now, here we are. Over eight years later, we're settled where we want our children to grow up. This weekend, visiting our town center's annual festival, I realized - I live in a small town. We saw a bunch of people we knew and kids that our children knew. And, I think I like it!