The Importance Of Hometowns

I have lived in only one location my entire life: Edwardsville, Illinois. A peripheral suburb of St. Louis, it stands as the rare oasis of people in a desert of corn, pinned in its own personal bubble. Due to this blend of time and isolation, I developed a natural familiarity with my hometown. But, throughout my childhood, I longed to break free from the confines of the bubble and venture outward. However, this changed last summer, as I walked through Richards Brickyard, our family heirloom, that my great-grandfather, Benjamin Richards, founded over 120 years ago. I felt these childlike sentiments slip away. The bubble that had surrounded me for so long began to vanish, and the picture that it had been obscuring was slowly revealed.

As you walk down the streets of Arcadia, Nebraska, you look from side to side and see nothing more than a quiet little town. What you probably aren’t aware of is the history behind this “little town”. Arcadia is built off of determination, character, and distinctiveness. As you make your way down Main Street, you start to grasp a glimpse of the past. Arcadia, Nebraska is a village with quite a story to tell. Not many people know how Arcadia was founded or even how it came to be. Arcadia has dealt with struggles and overcome tragedies, whereas most towns simply would have died away. In addition to the charm of Arcadia’s perseverance, there are also many fun

In “Why Place Matters” by Wilfred M. McClay and Ted V. McAllister, the authors establish an argument of why place matters more than virtual places brought to us by technological advancements. McClay and McAllister talk about the risks as individuals and society face, when losing connection to physical space. They discuss how a feeling of “thereness” has vanished because people focus on a virtual place. Technologies around us have “absorbed our energies,” is something they mention, and it is what the satellites revolving around Earth are doing. The authors say when we move we have no emotion because we have detached ourselves very quickly from the place. McClay and McAllister reason how we all come from a place or “places” that

In my early years, I hadn't given much thought to the depth of this city, only knowing bits and pieces of the puzzle that I was trying to put together in my head. However, as the years went by, I grew accustomed to the city, its people, and its ways. This city influenced and shaped my persona into the individual I am today. This city taught me a great deal of what

Currently, people within our society are predominantly divided by the groups they identify with or with how they are identified by others. These identities are defined by our social location. Social location includes our gender, race, ethnicity, social class, sexual orientation, and religion (Hutchison, 2011). In this paper, I will take a close look at my social location and attempt to describe how it affects my way of living and my professional life.

Imagine growing up in a small town where everyone knows everyone's business and the nearest Wal-Mart is almost an hour away; then imagine attending a school where the amount of student attending is the same number of people who occupy a small town. The size difference is substantial and plays an important role. When I was younger, I had attended both a small town school and a school in the city. I have had the chance to experience the different lifestyles of these two variations of living. The development of who I am today was because of my surroundings. In the city, I noticed there was different opportunities. The opportunities seemed more readily available depending on funding and sources; which are dependant on the location. Education, development, and opportunities are widely known to be affected by environmental factors; thus, people who live in the city have a different experience than those who reside in small towns.

Our Town is a play that takes place near the turn of the century in the small rural town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire. The playwright, Thornton Wilder is trying to convey the importance of the little, often unnoticed things in life. Throughout the first two acts he builds a scenario, which allows the third act to show that we as humans often run through life oblivious to what is actually happening. Wilder attempts to show life as something that we take for granted. We do not realize the true value of living until we are dead and gone. The through-line of the action seems to be attention to the details of life. Wilder builds up a plot that pays attention to great details of living.

It began with a small town and a small house. Until about 12 years of age I lived an average kids childhood in Alfred, Maine. Everyone was kind, I had birthday parties, friends were always over, I loved sports, especially basketball. Most of all, I was comfortable. At the time, I never realized what, or how lucky I was.

Growing up in the small town of Pocahontas, Iowa gives appreciation to the simplicity of tight-knit communities. With a population of 1,800 people, there is single café where local farmers enjoy a morning cup of coffee while discussing the news. Rural communities are a place where children have birthday parties at the local pizza place and teenagers’ first jobs are as detasslers. As a child, your mother knows if you got in trouble at school before you return home and everyone’s name is well known throughout the area.

Currently, people within our society are mainly divided by the groups they identify with or with how they are identified by others. These identities are defined by our social location. Social location includes our gender, race, ethnicity, social class, sexual orientation, and religion (Hutchison, 2011). In this paper, I will take a close look at my social location and attempt to describe how it affects my way of living and my professional life.

Growing up in a small town, with the knowledge of a small town community can have an effect on you. Having the respect and dignity to know between right and wrong adds and interesting aspects into a life style. Growing up in a small community makes you realize what it is like to have small class rooms and having your teachers know you by a first name basis.Knowing everyone on each sport team because “everyone knows everyone in a small town”. I had the ability to be able to ride my bike down the street without a real question of my safety where I grew up in Worland Wyoming. I have different academic interests than others may, I enjoy different extracurricular activities than other students, and life experiences that are unlike anyone else that have shaped me into who I am today.

My hometown of Eldersburg, Maryland is fairly indistinguishable from the majority of towns in the rest of the United States. Eldersburg closely strattles the line of being the town mentioned in an All Time Low lyric, and that being placed in the crosshairs of somewhere. The main points about Eldersburg probably stem from the influx of supermarkets we have such as Food Lion, Martin’s, and Safeway, to name some of the larger ones, and the location of Liberty High School. However, despite this inability to have any truly positive distinguishing features, I have always found Eldersburg to be quaint enough to learn the lessons of growing up in a safe, community driven environment. Home is a place where you grow as an individual, flourish into what

Growing up in Lewistown has definitely influenced my life in many ways. In a small town the community also becomes your family. The community events such as the county fair or a 5k fundraiser are the major social events. If an individual in the community is struggling we all come together to assist that person. My father is a seed salesman and a very active member of the community. I have always been close with my father, and have followed him everywhere he goes ever since the day I started walking. Since he is so involved and knows so many people in the community, they came to know me too. I went along on delivery trips to all the farmers and their farm animals. Once I reached the age of 10 a very common reoccurrence was the statement "Wow! You sure grew up fast!" Because when you

Living and growing up in a small town is better than doing so in a big city.

I would have never thought that I would grow up to love the country life. I went from growing up in a big, busy, and hectic city, to a small, slow-paced, and simple town. I was so used to having neighbors, and walking and biking on a side-walk. Now I live on a gravel road with almost no neighbors. A change in environment really influences a person's personality. I now love the silence and hearing the birds chirp and coyete’s howl. The corn fields go on for miles and the sunsets are breathtaking.