Character Determined Through Community

In the small town of Hickory Pennsylvania, as well as the surrounding area, there is not a whole lot of excitement. Most of the area is rural farmland where many earn a healthy living by working the land or raising horses, cows or a combination of the both. Growing up in this type of environment has greatly benefitted me, and I would not trade it for anything. Although this small town and rural area are unexciting and usually pretty quiet, there are values instilled there that have helped shape and mold me into the person that I am today. These values include the importance of physical and emotional support, humbleness, and toughness.

On more than one occasion a tragedy has occurred and the community rallied together to support whoever the disaster affected. One specific time that this has directly affected me would be when my grandmother died. At the viewing and funeral hundreds of people showed up, many of those being from my region, and helped my family in this time of need. I was only 12 years old when she died and may not have noticed it then, but looking back I could not have gotten through that rough time without the help and support of the community. Another family was devastated by a house fire. After this incident occurred the town once again rallied together and raised money to help get this particular family back on their feet. Due to the fact that my region has that certain small-town feel everybody knows everybody, and most will go out of their way to lend a helping hand or be a shoulder to cry on. Another important value that is embodied in my community is humbleness.

As I mentioned before much of the community farms for a living, and this has taught me the importance of humbleness. In many other areas that are not rural the jobs tend to be different and in some, but not all cases, that sense of humbleness can be lost. Because of the fact that they practice a style of work that many would see as old fashioned, the people of my community seem to have grown more humble. Although, inhabitants of my region are humble, this does not mean they are not successful, they are proud, but not boastful, which is a hard balance to maintain.
Thanks to the practice of this important value in my community, I have learned to humble myself, yet take pride in my community. Along with exemplifying humbleness, and the importance of physical and emotional support, my community embodies the important value of toughness.

Toughness is another important value that seems to be instilled in my community. Through the attitude that the residents of Hickory have, they have successfully triumphed over any hardship that has come their way. A prime example would be the recent snowstorm. My community, like many others, cleared the two feet of snow and did not let it affect their daily lives for more than a day or two. No one had the attitude that the storm was too tough to handle, and no one gave up and stopped doing what was necessary to get through the massive amounts of snow that Mother Nature let fall. The entire community worked together to conquer this natural occurrence. This as an extremely important value and can be applied in many other situations.

I have lived in my region my entire life, and until now, have not realized how lucky I am to have lived in an area that taught me important values and valuable life lessons. Without, these values that have been instilled in me, I would not be the person I am today. Although I only mentioned three, there are many other important values embodied in my region that are incredibly beneficial, and have shaped and molded me in a positive way. It is very important to remember your roots, and recognize where you come from, because the area that you live has a great effect on the way you see and react to situations that you come across.