Sorry big city folks, but there are some things in this world that you won't be able to understand—small town life is one of them. There are many things that make each and every small town unique in their own right, but they all share some of these commonalities.
1. You are more likely to win the lottery, get struck by lightning, defend a small village from a fire breathing dragon with a Nerf gun, or get eaten by a shark, than you are likely to be able to make a left turn during tourist season.
2. If you have lived here your whole life, yet you probably can't give accurate directions to anywhere...you might be from a small town.
3. If you have seen your ex more times at the local bar than you saw them when you were together…you might be from a small town.
4. If you have ever had to check to make sure someone wasn't your cousin before you asked them out...you might be from a small town.
5. If you have attended a wedding in which the whole wedding party was dressed in camouflage…you might be from a small town.
6. If you have ever uttered the phrase, “I can’t wait to get out of this small town!” and then a couple of years later you move back into town because you miss the atmosphere…you might be from a small town.
7. If you have ever had a snow day in the month of May…you might be from a small town in Wisconsin or Minnesota.
8. If you have seen the same person at three different places throughout the day and haven't thought that they were stalking you…you might be from a small town.
9. If your idea of having a crazy Friday night is going to Walmart late at night and messing around in the isles…you might be from a small town.
10. If you have ever walked downtown during your town's festival and haven’t seen at least two family members, a long lost cousin, a person you went to high school with, and a person that you accidentally kissed at the street dance the night before…you are from out of town.
11. If you went to high school with most of the police officers…you might be from a small town.
12. If you plan on attending all of the pancake feeds throughout the summer, but the doctor tells you that if you do so, you’d probably need a forklift to carry you from place to place…you might be from a small town.
13. If you remember when Walmart came to town…you might be from a small town.
14. If your idea of a great first date is taking someone mudding…you might be from a small town.
15. If you go crazy during the summer months because of all the traffic, but are bored in the wintertime…you might be from a small town.
16. If your fire department has one fire truck...you might be from a small town.
17. If you have ever climbed the water tower and spray painted it with your high school graduating class year on it...you might be from a small town.
18. If your local movie theater only gets four movies about every two weeks and you have to drive almost an hour to see a new release...you might be from a small town.
19. If beer league softball is "kind of a big deal"...you might be from a small town.
20. If you have seen in a deer in your front yard and didn't take 5000 photos of it and send to your friends saying "OMG! A deer!"...you might be from a small town.
21. If you can drive through town late at night without hitting a single red light...you might be from a small town.
22. If you had the same coach for all of the sports you played...you might be from a small town.
23. If people drive their tractors to school...you might be from a small town.
24. If you wave to multiple people on your way to work or school because everyone knows your car...you might be from a small town.
25. If you get into trouble and your parents know about it before you even get home...you might be from a small town.
Small towns have their perks and they also have their downsides, but the perks outweigh the downsides. Yeah, things may be boring at times, but you enjoy the little things like the community coming together to help put on an event or talking with old friends while pumping gas. Not everybody likes the small town life, but you probably wouldn't have it any other way.
-Dalton