Lucky

I can see it now: The rows upon rows of chairs, with the community I’ve spent most of my life with sitting before me. To the left, my graduating class. Most of them I’ve known since kindergarten. To the right, the high school choir. A place where I’ve made some of the best friends and the best memories. Four years flashed before my eyes and for a moment, I couldn’t believe I was actually graduating. The time to say goodbye to the community I’ve grown so close to came at me faster than a freight train and I wasn’t prepared for it. I looked back on the all the times I had thought “I can’t wait to graduate, move on to college, and leave this town” but why? In the moments after commencement when friends, family, and community members congratulated me, I finally realized how lucky I was.

How many times have you sat at home on a Saturday night and complained about how boring your hometown is? I know I have plenty. From the outside, small towns don’t look fun. There’s no malls, no big restaurants, no amusement parks or anything. Maybe you have a bowling alley, a McDonald’s, a couple places to hang out. But looking on the inside, you learn to appreciate the community you grew up in.

When I was little, I remember learning VERY quickly that people were always looking out for me around town. If I crashed my bike, a neighbor would be outside in a heartbeat with a band-aid. If I did anything I wasn’t supposed to, like in 5th grade when I decided to skip softball practice to go to the pool, my mom found out before I got home. I always felt safe in my community and knew that everyone was a neighbor who cared about me.

When you’re at your Friday night football game you can look into the crowd and see the support your community gives. There are people in the stands that aren’t parents or aunts and uncles of the players, they are people who are there simply because they want to be. When you’re on stage for a choir concert and scanning the faces below you, you find people who were willing to give up a free night just to support another school activity that they find important. They celebrate every victory and comfort every loss. It’s a group of people that have your back like no other.

Take the time to appreciate your community for every drive they make to a game all the way down to every smile they give as you pass them on the streets. Take the time to truly appreciate how lucky you are.

Until next time,

Laken Mullinix

2018-2019 State Secretary