How has a small town and/or small school impacted you?

Question

How has a small town and/or small school impacted you?

Answer 1

i went to a fairly big school. however, i lived in a small town. hasn't really affected me too much. i had diversity. i'm good to go.

Answer 2

Yes and yes.  I grew up in a small town, leaving for the "big city" to attend college and I stayed in the big city for my career

The small town/small school gave me a sense of community that I have found very difficult/impossible to achieve here.  Yes, we all knew each other and in many ways knew each others' "business" which is often considered to be a problem for many.  I'm not sure it is a problem, though.  There was still a lot of privacy, differences amongst the town citizens.  At the end of the day, though, what I felt was a sense of security....the security that no matter what happened, the Community would be there to help if necessary.  I'm not sure that deep down I feel that way about my "neighbours" in the big city.

Because it was a small town, and I knew everyone, I grew up knowing that people with disabilities needed our respect and sometimes our help.  We changed the rules of our football game to include the girl with Down's Syndrome.  I didn't freak out when I woke up one morning to find the woman with Schizophrenia hiding in our living room.  Essentially, a lot of the compassion I feel and act on today, I believe, is a result of learning community behaviour in my childhood.