SHOWER THOUGHTS SHELLY
“It’s just Cotulla…” “Well, yeah, but I’m just from Pearsall…” “But I live in Dilley…”
Hear me out… being from a small town, whether in South Texas or anywhere else in the world, does not make you any more or any less anything than anyone else. Geniuses, normal people, celebrities, politicians, blue collar workers, and everything else you can come up with are not exclusive to any place. You really can be anything, no matter where you’re from.
I even have a few examples to prove that with. I know a woman who grew up in a tiny town, had a high school graduating class of less than 30 kids, and she is an actual rocket scientist working for a space program. I know a man who grew up in a house that had dirt floors that is a professor at a university now. And just the same, I know a man who was raised in a city by parents who were very well off that lives paycheck to paycheck and can’t keep himself out of trouble with the law.
It’s true, yes, that small towns often have less resources. Maybe things aren’t as easily accessible to you in a small town as they are to your cousin in a large city. That doesn’t mean that you “can’t”.
News flash: You can be proud of your home and your surroundings, even if that home is in a small town. Green grass can grow in the yard of the worst house on the block, and a mansion can fall to pieces. It’s about the effort that you put in to make the space around you as good as you want it to be. Naturally, you may find yourself wanting for the glamorous car that your neighbor drives, but you’d be surprised what you have that they want. We don’t need to cut each other down for what the other has, we can actually celebrate for our individual accomplishments.
You can be a celebrated artist and have never once set foot in an art class. You can work your way to the manager position even if you started at the bottom. You can work in a kitchen for the rest of your life because you simply love to cook, or just because you’re good at it. You don’t have to attend a four year university to be special, you can be on the line at a fast food restaurant and still be the most important person in the room.
It’s not just Cotulla. You’re not just a person that lives in Dilley. You are not just from Pearsall, or any combination or trade of any of those statements. You are one of a kind, you have a purpose, and you have a place in the world that is special.
