A small town, boasting rodeos, a casual diner, and more roundabouts than one can count. A little town, 30 minutes away from the chaos of the world renowned skiing resort, Vail. This town has shaped the way I think and I navigate around the world. It has enclosed me in a bubble, that wouldn’t have been bursted, if I didn’t travel. This bubble is built by the feelings associated with being away from the “business” of the city. It closed us off from the ideas of a big city. There’s not much diversity, or crime. We’re stuck in the ideas of safety, and ignorance. Living in a small town has it’s personality. Being able to break through from the ideas and the close circle of people, to another part of the world and another part of understanding gave me a whole new view and enabled me into being able to inform and educate others about it as well.
The person that I am has also been built on the closely knit culture that small towns have built for themselves. The families built within our small population. This has made a new sense of trust. Growing up, and waking up to a view of the mountains everyday is beautiful. It gives you a new sense of appreciation for nature. The sticky smell of fruit, the calluses on my hands after being at neighborhood park all day, knocking on friends doors to go play, and going downtown for slushies. These experiences turned into memories and those into personality. I was becoming the extroverted, curious person that I am now, because of these activities. There were moments that I enjoyed being secluded from all the noise and commotion of cities and their trends. The fact was that living in the mountains provides us with barriers to the weird trends you find elsewhere. There’s a consensus on how to act not based on the internet as much, but more on the culture of our community.
We are taught that society rules over all and that we obey it to keep in the norm. We are also aware of how diverse and multifarious the ideas of society becomes. With its different customs around the state, the nation and worldwide. That only some customs bleed into all aspects of humanity. I adapted and created my own knowledge of being who I was always, not just because I was from a small town that speaks its mind but because of my family. Being biracial is one of the coolest and sometimes a confusing part of me. I’m Bulgarian-Mexican, not a combination you hear of very often. But with that and living where I have, I built a character for myself and how to let my opinion and my beliefs dictate how I created my path, not letting others steer me away. I brought my opinions to the table and the ways I acted to become self aware and reflect on how much I respect myself and others. Coming from a closer community, my gratitude has been immense. I have a population surrounding me that I can trust and support during my life, it’s something priceless that I have enriched with my experiences around the world.
