college essay about growing up in a small town

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What Growing Up In A Small Town Teaches You About Life

When I was two years old, my family moved from Cincinnati to a little town in northeast Ohio called Cortland. The realization that people only really knew Ohio for the three C’s – Cleveland, Cincinnati, or Columbus ( not Cortland!) – came quickly when I decided to go to school in central Pennsylvania. The truth is, I never considered myself “Midwestern” until I left Ohio. You’d think that people would realize that we were neighboring states, but the people at my “East Coast” school thought of Ohio as a whole different world. Half of my peers didn’t even realize I lived a mere three and a half hours away. “Do you have to fly home? Do you live on a farm? Is there even anything in Ohio worth seeing?” The questions are never-ending. I was a unicorn in their eyes, a novelty. Or, on second thought, maybe just a country hick. Don’t even get me started on the “pop” versus “soda” debate…

As I grow older, I’m more and more thankful for my small town roots. Sure, my friends and I loved to complain about how bored we were in the middle of nowhere, but as I finish up my junior year of college, I’m convinced that it took leaving our small town to realize how much we actually did love it and what exactly we loved about it.

We grew up amongst corn fields, spent summers by Mosquito Lake, and learned to ride our bike on the hill with the rest of the kids in the neighborhood. We played kick ball and Red Rover in the empty lot down the street, caught snapping turtles in the creek and snakes in the shared vegetable garden behind the fence, and spent many an afternoon exploring the woods behind our houses. We counted the days until the county fair, prayed for snow days (inside out pj’s and ice cubes in the toilet, anyone?), we’re forced into corn hole competitions by our dads, never viewed burnt out headlights as anything other than padiddles, and have all run a red light at some point at one of the five stoplights in town. I might be showing my affinity toward the midwest lifestyle, but all of these things taught have taught me important life lessons.

For one, the pace of life isn ’ t anxiety provoking and people really value connecting to each other . That means that you do more than just talk to your next door neighbors – in a lot of cases, they’re truly an extension of your family. So much of this lifestyle revolves around being outside and knowing the ins and outs of the town, being present and mindful of your surroundings is a critical part of the culture. The gift of being able to grow up slowly is another invaluable treasure that I was given by my small town. Sure, there will always be a little bit of “keeping up with the Jones’,” or rather the “advanced” girls, but I never felt pressure to rush through my childhood or to act older than I was – heck, I was still playing with American Girl dolls in middle school!

As I move through my college years, I look forward to the visits to my little hometown. A huge perk has been the memories that I made with the people that I was lucky enough to know , and maybe wouldn’t have if our school district didn’t have just one building for each the elementary, middle, and high schools. There were no more than 130 kids in my public school graduating class and we had known each other since kindergarten. My life would be so different without the midwestern friendliness and hospitality that I’ve been exposed to through the years and which has acted as my compass growing up. I am grateful for the experience that I had growing up and know that wherever my next adventure takes me, I can trust my small town roots to lead me in the right direction. 

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I grew up in a small town 13 miles northwest of Boston, MA, where there was really nothing going on: no movie theatre, or any recreational center. Only a library, and a small mall, where some kids from the wrong side of the tracks hung out to shoot the breeze, but that was about it.

It wasn’t until I moved out of my small town and into the city, that I expanded my horizons and interests through meeting people of different nationalities and backgrounds, and at last had the chance to expand my viewpoint and develop interests of my own. I’m more than glad that all the happened.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Growing Up — Growing Up in a Small Town: The Joys and Enduring Memories

Growing Up in a Small Town: The Joys and Enduring Memories

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Words: 739 |

Published: Sep 7, 2023

Words: 739 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

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The joys of small-town childhood, the challenges of small-town life, the enduring sense of community, conclusion: nurturing the small-town spirit.

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Essay about Growing Up In A Small Town

Two families who knew one another were deciding if they were going to live in the city or a small town. Both families had young children who aspired to be in the same profession, and wanted to make sure their children would grow up in the best environment as possible. One family decided to move into the city limits while the other family decided to move to a small town. Where someone lives while growing up effects their future job as an adult.

While growing up in a small town gives a child more emphasis on the social aspect, growing up in the city gives a child more emphasis on culture diversity and is given more opportunities for interactions within the society. While growing up, most children want some social atmosphere. In a small town, everyone knows everyone’s business. They know about people’s past, even when they are trying to hide it. The past will haunt the person forever if it is bad. Once a person does something they are not supposed to do, the townspeople will talk about it and possibly add a rumor to make it sound worse.

Also, because almost everyone knows each other, it is very hard to commit a crime. It would be very easy to find out who committed a crime. Therefore, the crime rates are low. The small town inhabitants care about the people who live in the same town. They want to have a safe community for all to enjoy. The people care about their friends and family to ensure there is more “togetherness” within a town. The whole town seems like it is one big family. The small-town gets together with local events or community gatherings. These events are prime to the small-town social life.

It brings everyone together, which is necessary for the small community. The togetherness brings joy and future generations continue the tradition. Tradition is crucial to a small town because it gives the townspeople a sense of belonging to the community. Growing up in the city is very different from growing up in a small town. The social atmosphere is similar but seem polar opposite. Growing up in the city, not everyone knows you. The people who you see on a daily basis, like at school or work, know you well, or sometimes barely know you.

Nowadays, people who live in the city limits do not even know their neighbors. There is a lack of communication and desire to know people within the city. Also, crimes are more likely to be committed in the city due to the fact not a lot of people know who the person is, therefore, it takes longer the police and community longer to find the culprit. The local news mostly takes up what crimes have been committed and if law enforcement has caught them or not. The people care about their friends and family, but not to the same extent.

Families and friends come together at particular times, for example, birthdays and holidays. People in the city limits are always busy due to work, taking care of their children, and other daily events. In a city, local events and gatherings still occur but are not as popular with everyone. Each event focuses on certain culture, like music and film festivals are for the artsy or “hipster” crowd. Cultural diversity is quite large in the city. Different cultures gather in the city because of the jobs that are offered.

Due to this, children are exposed to different people and adapt to their ways. Children and adults who live in the city do not necessarily have to agree with every culture’s way of life; they only need to know that the cultures are out there. When the children grow up in a city with different cultures, they will be ready for their adult life to contain several cultures or a particular type of culture. When one learns about the cultures, they have a sense of awareness that surrounds them. People begin to feel open to others, no matter what they believe or who they are as an individual.

This allows one person to be their own individual, to create their own identity. Being an individual also creates privacy because not everyone will like who others are and what they believe in, so this gives space between two or more individually different people. In a small town, the culture is the same, the people are country-like or farmers. Being of the same culture means they are not exposed to other cultures. When they are exposed to a new culture, they are a culture shocked. The small-town people might not know how to react to those who are different from them.

Everyone within the small town must be the same in a way because if not, then they will be treated as an outsider. When people from the small town go to a city because of particular needs, the trip can be very stressful. A large amount of cultures in the city can make it difficult for the small town people. With a small amount of culture diversity in a town, fewer options created. In small towns, there is not a lot to do. The town only has the necessities: a food market, a gas station, a small diner, and sometimes they have their school for the children.

If the town is too small, the children will have to go to the town closest to them that have schools. Small towns lack interactions within society. Yes, small towns do have their traditional gatherings and local events, but they are not as many as the city. In the city, there are endless amounts of interactions. Due to the cultural differences, opportunities, like events, festivals, and gatherings, appear more. Each opportunity represents the different cultures and can be for anybody, but not for everyone. The interactions always give people something to do.

It allows the person to get out of the house and enjoy life, meeting new people, and even understanding other cultures. When growing up, where the child lives affects their future job as an adult. When a child grows up in a small town, it gives the child more emphasis on the social aspect, while growing up in the city gives the child more emphasis on culture diversity and is given more interactions within society. When the two families parted, they believed they made the right decision for their child. Each family knew the pros and cons of where they were going to live, but they were going to make the best for themselves.

When the child who was a part of the family who moved to the small town, grew up, they were very timid, and not successful due to the fact of the cultural differences within the workplace. The adult did not know how to react to them and had troubles working for or with them. The adult who grew up in a small town knew how to talk to others who were like him. The adult who grew up in the city was more successful than the adult who grew up in a small town. The adult who grew up in the city knew how to work with his coworkers because no matter how many cultures there were in one room, he knew how to react to them.

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Commentary: Rural Students, Claim Your Story in Admissions Essays

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I live in a place where one of the best lunches you can get is a bologna sandwich from Nelson Valley gas station. It’s not a fancy sandwich and it’s not a fancy place, but there is something about it that is good and honest and makes you feel like you are suddenly sitting snugly inside 1962.

Pretty often in the summer, it can take some time to get to Nelson Valley because cars get hung up behind a tractor on the road, creating an impromptu parade. I don’t ever really mind though, because it forces me to sit back and look at the day, wonder about the weather, and think about how the lady at the grocery said it was going to be a long winter because the wooly worms are black. No amber in sight.

If you live in this kind of a place, you’re lucky like I am — even though it doesn’t always feel like it. And if you live in this kind of a place, you have the material to write an exceptional personal statement.

Two Facts You Need to Know

Fact No. 1 : Rural schools educate just 18 percent of the nation’s public school students, though 72 percent of the country’s land is designated as rural.

Fact No. 2 : Colleges and universities want student populations that are diverse.

When it comes to college and graduate school apps, we tend to think of diversity as pertaining to race, ethnicity, gender, or socio-economic background. But schools want geographically-diverse students and their perspectives, too, because they,  you ,  strengthen the fabric of the academic conversation.

The take-home message here? You’re special. In fact, 82 percent of students don’t know what it’s like to have the experiences you’ve had. They don’t have a Nelson Valley. And they haven’t eaten that bologna sandwich either. So, if you’re wondering and wondering and  wondering  what to write about, I have a suggestion for you: Write about your rural life.

Not only will you get to write about something that you know, your rural background may not be obvious in any other part of your application. That means you’ll get to showcase another essential side of yourself, which is exactly what a personal statement is for. Another advantage? Writing rural can make a beautiful piece of writing.

Pull Your Story Through a Small Lens

In order to pull off a compelling essay, it’s important that you do a few things. First off, no matter what your prompt is, make sure your lens is small. If your goal is to put us where you live, then make sure you don’t tell us about the whole town or county. Your bedroom in that town works. Your kitchen. In the gym bleachers where you watch basketball games. Beside a creek where you have a lot of growing-up history. In the Walmart parking lot. In Sonic or Sonny’s. In the spot beside the road where there is a cross and flowers.

Your lens is meant to help you enter your story. Most prompts are designed to make you write about what you learned, realized, solved, or tried to solve within a specific set of circumstances. So the place and scenario you choose should act as a springboard that leads to you revealing parts of yourself and showing how your mind works.

As you write, it’s important that you focus on what is unique to your experience. I would avoid too many images of hay lofts, horses and climbing fences, for example. Instead, look for the gritty, hauntingly beautiful, out-of-the-ordinary and  very  ordinary stuff. A dog running by with a deer leg in its mouth during hunting season (it, umm, happens). The gum you’re chewing. The winter remnants of your grandmother’s garden. And if you do write about a horse, do so in a way that shows your knowledge about him. I don’t want to know he’s glossy or colored like a chestnut. Tell me about what he’s thinking. And how you know it.

For example, one of my students wrote about how he worked on a ranch one year, and one of his jobs was to move the sprinkler lines in the fields on icy cold mornings. What made his beginning beautiful wasn’t the ice or the ranch or that it was morning. It was the sprinkler lines. They grounded the story in honesty, and that’s how you knew he was telling the truth. When you know the writer is being truthful with you, that’s when you know you’re reading exceptional writing.

Rural Doesn’t Have to Mean Agrarian

As I write this, I’m thinking of the little apartment building I drove by today. I had to get some antibiotic foam at this medical supply store, and I took the wrong turn, so went all the way down Bogle Street to the end, which I’d never been down before. Well, Bogle Street is a pretty busy one because the town’s hospital backs onto it and, thus, many doctor’s offices do, too. But head a ways down the wrong end of Bogle and you’ll see that, very quickly, it becomes pleasantly windy and lined on either side with grassy fields dotted with brushy, woody pieces.

In the midst of it is this apartment building, sitting both in the middle of town and yet, somehow, in the middle of nowhere. And I thought to myself: “Man. I wonder what a personal statement from someone who lives there would be like. I bet it would be amazing.”

My point is: You don’t have to have a dad who’s a farmer to write about your rural life. You don’t need a tractor, a horse or a meemaw who cooks the best fried green tomatoes and lets them dry on newspaper. What you’re after is your take in your place. And how your place has created your take. You’re after that bologna sandwich from Nelson Valley.

Tara Kaprowy is a freelance journalist and the proprietor of Sway Essay , which provides writing coaching for college applicants. She lives in Somerset, Kentucky. This column was originally published in the London (Kentucky) Sentinel-Echo.

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by Tara Kaprowy, The Daily Yonder November 12, 2019

This <a target="_blank" href="https://dailyyonder.com/commentary-rural-students-claim-your-story-in-admissions-essays/2019/11/12/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/cropped-dy-wordmark-favicon.png?fit=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://dailyyonder.com/?republication-pixel=true&post=52429&amp;ga4=G-QXTK9L73TZ" style="width:1px;height:1px;">

How Growing Up In A Rural Community Shaped Me As A Person

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You can’t change where you come from. But what if people judge you for it? This is a series I’ve been meaning to write for a while and I think it’s more important than ever to fight for our small towns.

I keep hearing about the death of rural communities. In fact, in 2014, 54% of the world’s population lived in cities. By 2050 it’s expected that 70% of all humankind will live in a city ! I understand the why behind this, but I’ve come to really cherish my humble beginnings. It shaped me as a person.

It made me a dreamer

Growing up in a small town, a lot of people said to me, “you’ll never amount to anything.” This type of talk and small-mindedness made me think deeply about what I wanted to do with my life.

I was always a bit of a dreamer. Naturally, growing up in a rural community, everyone around me (except my grandmother and mother) would tell me to stop all this dreaming stuff and to just get a job like everyone else. But I knew I didn’t want to work where it was customary.

It forced me to become ambitious

Growing up in a working-class family forced me to be ambitious. I became obsessed with thinking of ways that would allow me to be different and make a name for myself. It hasn’t been easy and I’m not where I want to be just yet. But we’ve got many exciting new things happening at the Cadman Capital Group  and I’ll be sharing more in the coming weeks!

My parents would always take me to the city, day trips to London, etc. This is what set the fire in me if you will – and the flame hasn’t been put out yet.

It keeps me grounded

My small town values keep me grounded. Having my grandmother’s and mother’s support gave me the confidence to do what I needed to do to be successful. It helped me to pick up and leave when I was just 17 to go travel the world.

When I got back, my world experience helped start my own business. But without the support from the two of them to do what was right for me, I would have been completely lost.

The countryside is where I feel the most ‘me’

I still spend the majority of my downtime in the country. I feel the mos ‘me’ when I’m connected to nature – when I’m around water or can feel the light all around me. I spend my time fishing, walking, and thinking, which are things you really can’t do in the city.

I also understand that cities just aren’t for everyone. There’s a lot of good in small towns "“ in fact, I recently wrote a series about stimulating small business in rural areas . I touched upon why university may not be for everyone , how important trade skills are in modern society , why green is good for you , and 4 ways a small town can boost its economy .

I'm forever grateful for my experience growing up in a rural community. But most of all, for my grandmother and mother for supporting me, no matter what. I hope my children feel the same way.

Giles Cadman is Chairman of The Cadman Capital Group, a group of cohesive, complementary companies, operating in the international trade, retail, leisure, and investment markets. Learn more about Giles .

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Articles & Advice > College Admission > Articles

Admission Granted: Examples of Successful College Application Essays, Volume I

Getting stuck writing your college essays? Try reading some examples of successful papers that got students admitted to get ideas for your own essays!

by CollegeXpress

Last Updated: Apr 5, 2023

Originally Posted: Dec 1, 2014

Generating essay ideas can be difficult, and sometimes it’s helpful to see an example of a college admission essay that got someone into their dream school. And we’ve got some perfect examples right here! Reading other people’s work is certainly no excuse for not generating your own ideas, but something in them may inspire you or spark a memory of a story you could tell about your own life. Good luck in your writing journey, and we hope you enjoy these stellar admission essays.

“Small Town” by Morgan Schondelmeier, University of Tampa

Living in a small town can limit the perspective of one’s mind, leaving one to believe that hardly anything exists beyond the borders of one’s town. Old Saybrook is a town that I love; filled with beaches and restaurants, a quaint Main Street and green parks, it is quintessential Smalltown, New England. But in addition to its charm, growing up in Saybrook has had its challenges. Now, I’m not talking inner-city slum challenges, but as challenging as growing up in upper middle-class suburbia can get. A lack of cultural experience and awareness seems to permeate my town of Old Saybrook, leaving the kids of this small town with little knowledge of what the world truly has to offer.

Being confined to a community with an area of 15 square miles has left me with a desire to see what lies beyond the borders of Old Saybrook. It began the summer before ninth grade when I took a trip to Europe through the program People to People. I, along with 44 other teens, traveled from the beaches of Greece, through the countryside of Italy, up to the center of France. This three-week-long complete immersion into travel and the European way of life left me thirsty for more. In the years that followed, my desire slowly morphed and developed, grew and transformed into a need, an obsession. I plastered my walls with pictures of the architecture of Rome and the beaches of Brazil. I spent hours on my computer searching for more opportunities to travel—counting my pennies, calculating how long until I could dive into another culture. I became committed to learning new languages, taking French in school, and scrounging the library for audiotapes that could teach me a new language. And after a failed attempt at mastering the difficult accents used in German and Russian, I realized that it would be years before I could truly escape this small town.

My calling came sophomore year when another international travel program entered my radar. Walking Tree Travel presented to my French III class one of its programs: a trip to Senegal. I, however, was entranced by the Costa Rican trip, Walking Tree’s fledgling trip. I immediately signed up and four months later, armed with a borrowed Spanish I textbook, I was in Costa Rica. While I spent two weeks cliff diving, hiking, and zip lining, my 14 companions and I spent two weeks living and working with the inhabitants of Las Brisas. Las Brisas has a whopping population of 500—that’s a small town! My life began to revolve around life and work in Las Brisas. I would wake up every morning and walk a mile to the school where we were building a new support wall and mixing cement by hand for hours before being refreshed by a hot cup of coffee. The physical requirements of building a seven-foot-high cement wall are extensive, but the rewards were even greater. I made new friends with the Las Brisas natives, began learning a new language, and really connected with the dozens of individual personalities and relationships that existed in this small farm town. Everyone had their own stories to tell and dreams to share, from the littlest chica to the oldest hombre. I gained so much more insight into culture in my two weeks in Las Brisas than I ever expected. They come from a different world than I do, but we share so many similarities! They like watching TV and playing sports. Others love traveling to see the wonders their small country has to offer. Some even love texting and, like me, some dream to escape their small town and see the world. And while living and working with the warm-hearted people of Las Brisas, I realized that it’s not the size of the town but the hopes and dreams of those in it that really determines the life they will lead.

While Saybrook gets quite boring in the dead of winter, growing up in what I thought was a “small” town has given me the perfect launch pad to make my life whatever I want it to be. My experiences in Europe and Costa Rica have given my life purpose and focus. I study hard in French and now take Spanish as well to build a foundation of knowledge that I hope will grow during and after college. I’ve made amazing international connections and friendships that I know I will keep for my whole life. These friendships have changed my perspective of humans and cultural differences as a whole. My interest in travel and foreign cultures has grown from a desire to an obsession to a virtual need for new experiences and relationships. I hope to fulfill this need in college and my career after, traveling and meeting new people and working to build a better world. But now, as I mature, I know that I will not forget the small shoreline town that I dreamed of leaving, knowing that one day, I will dream of returning.

Check out the University of Tampa on CX!

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“Ball of Yarn” by Holly Still, Lincoln Christian University

If I had a quarter for every time I’ve heard someone tell me I’ve got it all “figured out,” I’d be doing pretty well in the money department right now. Way back when (before Jesus was more than some dead guy religious people couldn’t stop talking about), I knew exactly what field I wanted to go into, where I wanted to work, and how I wanted to go about achieving it all. Way back when, I thought I had it all figured out. But now (after I’ve realized why those religious people can’t stop talking about Jesus) I have no idea. My life is completely un-figured out. I don’t know where I’ll be five years from now. I don’t know what I’ll be doing. But you know what? I know that’s okay. I know that’s how it’s supposed to be.

Life was good up until April of last year. That’s when I attended my first-ever Cornerstone Christian Church Youth Group. Imagine my life plan as a ball of yarn—for 17 years I’d meticulously wound my yarn-plan into a perfect little ball. When I stepped into that youth group, into that church, Jesus grabbed my ball of yarn and threw it out the window. It’s unraveling, still, as I type. So much for my plans, huh?

The un-figured out-ness of my life isn’t limited to my future plans, either. People tell me I have my faith all figured out as well—but, of course, I don’t. Well, it depends on how you define “figured out,” I guess. I know that God is up in Heaven watching me write this essay. I know Jesus is why I’m going to join God in Heaven one of these days, even though I deserve Hell. And I know that the Holy Spirit lives in me. But other than that, I have no clue. Do I love God? Really love God? What are my motives for living how I live, believing what I believe? Guilt, fear of punishment, want of reward? Am I living how Jesus wants me to live? How exactly does Jesus want me to live?

Question, after question, after question—but I love the feeling of being uncertain and suddenly “getting it,” you know? My youth minister, Doug, has spent countless hours “splashing in mud puddles” with me over these questions. Most of the time, my questions have clear-as-mud answers. I’ve learned, though, that having an answer isn’t always as important as having the curiosity to ask the question.

At Lincoln Christian University I hope I find answers, but more than that, I hope I find more questions to ask. Where should I go? What should I do? How should I do it? I’ve asked those questions before, but it was me who answered them. In all my uncertainty, I do know this: I won’t be re-winding my ball of yarn by myself. If Jesus cared enough to pitch it out the window, I’m sure he cares enough to help me roll it back up—his way.

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“The Surgeon” by Henry Weiss, Loyola University New Orleans

“Me enfila los cuchillos, porfavor,” I used to tell Don Rafael, the gardener. I asked him to sharpen the kitchen knives early in the morning before I left for Karate classes on Saturdays, so that upon my arrival the knives were ready. When he gave them back to me to give to Lucia, the cook, I would hide two of the sharp knives under the porch. I then waited impatiently for my dad to arrive from the farm with the fresh fruit that would later become my patients. As soon as I heard the gate, I would run down the stairs, say hello to my father, and pretend to help him unload the miniature papayas, melons, and lemons from the pick-up truck. I would store some of the fruit in the tool shed near the garden and leave it there, hoping the ants and other insects would find their way into the melons, and especially the papayas.

Every day, I checked their progress to see what symptoms the patients were presenting; I always hoped they would have a white mold infection, but that was not always the case. Eventually the fruit got to that point, but sometimes it took as much as two weeks to rot, especially in the dry season. Once my patients were in that state, I would then get a pair of gloves my grandmother used to spray and remove the dry leaves from the sensitive violets in the house and would then proceed to surgery. I started by making an incision in the overripe side of the papaya or melon and hoped a small worm or maggot would jump out. I would then carefully open the cut and spend hours examining the anatomy of my patient’s body, and would also remove all of the seeds, which I pretended were malignant tumors. My favorite part of surgery, however, was looking at the maggots enter on one side of the papaya and suddenly appear on another side as they traveled inside the “tissue.” Finally I would cut the maggots open and predict how large the fly would be and proceed to stitching.

Five years later, I really discovered that I loved looking at, exploring, and analyzing animate objects, hypothesizing different ideas for the causes of their state. In grade school, I remember all of my classmates getting excused from performing dissections in class, and instead they worked on other written assignments related to the subject. I was the only one who would stay after class with Ms. Paz dissecting frogs, owl pellets, piglets, bats, and even a cow’s heart. Now, in my last year of high school, the decomposition rate is not being tested on miniature papayas, but instead on a cow’s liver, where the differences of the growth rates of maggots in the cow liver when exposed to the sunlight and when not exposed to any light at all are being observed.

I hope to establish a strong foundation as an undergraduate science major so that I can continue on to more important, worthwhile investigations as a surgeon. I am eager to put my curiosity to a more important task than dissecting fruit!

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• Smart Living
• United States

This Is What It's Really Like Growing Up in a Small Town Where Everyone Knows Your Name

Updated on 9/8/2019 at 10:40 AM

Growing up in a small town isn't everyone's dream, and it wasn't necessarily mine either, but it was my reality. I come from a town where everyone knows everyone, whether you know them personally or through a mutual friend. No trip to the grocery store is complete without running into your neighbor or someone you know from high school. I learned the "who's who" of the town at a young age, and knew that I would be surrounded by those people while I was growing up, whether I liked them or not.

As a teenager in high school, I didn't particularly care for the town I lived in and I couldn't wait to escape to college . I didn't like the fact that other people I rarely associated with probably knew everything about my personal life. I didn't appreciate when parents would gossip about their kids or their kid's friends, nor did I love when I or anyone I was close with became the center talking point. I felt trapped in my negative thoughts and desperately longed after the idea of leaving.

When it was finally time for me to pack up and move away, I felt an overwhelming amount of sadness to leave.

But as time passed I grew to appreciate little things about my hometown . I loved when the sunset turned the sky into a canvas of pinks and purples. I was excited when local events, like the seafood festival or the fair, came to town. I smiled when the cashier at the grocery store was friendly, asking how my family was doing and if I had a chance to try the new restaurant that just opened down the street.

When it was finally time for me to pack up and move away, I felt an overwhelming amount of sadness to leave. It was weird to graduate high school and say goodbye to my classmates who I quite literally grew up with. I dreaded every goodbye, no matter who I was saying it to. For the longest time I didn't understand why I felt uneasy about leaving, but now I realize that I felt emotionally confused because I planted such strong roots in the town where everyone knew my name. I knew that no matter where I lived next, this town would always be my home.

I could go on and on about how it's beneficial to leave the town you grew up in . You can't expect to experience all walks of life if you stay in the same spot forever, and you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't get out and explore the incredible world we live in . There's one thing about my town that makes it special, though. When I left, I realized what a strong community I had been a part of. Even though my town may not offer endless amounts of thrill and excitement, it does offer an endless amount of love and support. The sense of community that I feel when I'm home is overwhelming. Yes, everyone might know my personal business — and that does bother me at times — but that can also mean people are willing to help you out if you need it.

When I was in elementary school, my teachers and coaches were often the parents of my friends. Having these role models to look up to and listen to throughout my life made me feel safe and secure. I may not have realized it then, but I definitely realize now that the adults in my life look at me as their own. They want the best for me and my peers, and they won't ever stop encouraging me.

I don't think I would have the strong friendships I have now without growing up in my town. I've been lucky enough to call the same two women my best friends for my entire life . We grew up together, we've been with each other through thick and thin, and we've seen each other transform into the young women we are now. Without the bond I have with them, I'm not sure what my life would be like. I can think of several other people who have this same kind of bond with their friends, and it's all thanks to our home.

My small town taught me the importance of being there for each other, even when the going gets tough. The friendly faces I would see around town taught me to always be kind, no matter who I'm talking to. I learned how to be active in the community I lived in, whether it be through volunteering or supporting others in their efforts to make a difference. Most of all, I learned not to measure the significance of people by their successes in life, but instead by the consistent support and outpouring of love they offer to others. Without my small town , I wouldn't be who I am today, and I'm pretty proud of who I've become.

• Personal Essay

Growing Up Essay: Guide & Examples [2024]

What does it mean to grow up? Essays on this topic might be entertaining yet challenging to write. Growing up is usually associated with something new and exciting. It’s a period of everything new and unknown.

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Now, you’ve been assigned to write a growing up essay. You’re not a kid anymore, but not quite the adult. It would be interesting for your teacher to learn about your childhood memories or read what you think about the experience of growing up.

That’s why:

In this article, we will provide a guide on how to write an essay on growing up. Our team listed some topics to make your writing process more manageable.

• 📍 How to Write It

🏡 About Your Childhood

🧒 about someone else.

• 👧 Growing Up

🔗 References

📍 how to write a growing up essay.

Writing an essay about growing up can seem complicated, but it’s always easier to handle when you have a plan. In this section, we will talk more about how to write an essay on the topic.

• Reflective essays focus on the author’s attitude towards individual experiences. This type is often required during the college admissions process. For instance, one may write about growing up in poverty and how it shaped his character.
• Narrative essays focus on a specific event or sequence of events. For example, you might write about the most memorable trip from your childhood.
• Choose the topic on the familiar subject. It will be easier to reflect on the issue when you have a lot of relevant experience.
• Choose the topic of interest. Write about something that provokes a strong emotional reaction from you.
• Show a unique vision on the topic. Try to approach writing college essays about growing up from a different perspective. When writing a narrative essay, you need to remember that your work should tell a story. Your essay topic about growing up needs to agree with the paper’s length and follow the essay structure. Focus on a specific point in your writing.
• Think about the event in your life that provokes a strong emotional response;
• Write what you have learned from the experience;
• Consider writing about experiences with your friends or relatives. What those events taught you?
• Introduction : Your growing up essay introduction is an opening paragraph of the work. It grabs a reader’s attention and contains a thesis statement.
• Body Paragraphs : The childhood and growing up essay can contain three body paragraphs. In each one, provide an example of an event or situation that supports the general topic.
• Conclusion : In your growing up essay, the conclusion is the final paragraph. It summarizes the main points and brings the paper to an end.
• Revise your draft a couple of days after writing it. That way, you will be able to notice mistakes or typos you missed.
• Try to avoid passive voice . Rewrite the sentences in an active one, if possible.
• Read your essay out loud. If it doesn’t meet the set criteria, keep revising it.

👩‍👦‍👦 Growing Up Essay Topics

You may not know what your essay on growing up should be devoted to. If it’s the case, look at this section. Earlier, we talked about how to write, but here we will tell you what to write about.

Just in 1 hour! We will write you a plagiarism-free paper in hardly more than 1 hour

See the topics that can navigate an essay about your childhood experience:

• Your family values and how they have been shaping your personality. Engage in reflective writing to show how certain factors of growing up influenced your character . What do you think were the effects of your growing-up period?
• What various roles have you had in your family? How and why did they change? As children grow, the family adjusts accordingly. Remember your roles as a child, adolescent, and young adult . How did they change?
• Your personal changes over the course of growing up . Write an essay describing your personal development . What caused those changes?
• Sudden adulthood . Write a “growing up too fast” essay. Reflect on your feelings and emotions about growing up so suddenly.
• Growing up with siblings . Write an essay about your childhood experience in a house where you weren’t the only child. Remember what it was like growing up with blood brothers and sisters? Or, maybe you have step-siblings? How did it influence you?
• A short memoir . You don’t need to have a dramatic adolescence or an out-of-ordinary story to write about yourself. Share your most exciting stories from childhood.
• A significant event from my childhood.
• Personal experience of parenting styles .
• Describe the events that helped you to learn about life .
• Tell about the time you tried to challenge gender norms .
• Analyze your experience of growing up in another culture and the influence it had on your adult life.
• Most memorable Christmas of my childhood.
• Discuss how the relationships with your parents influenced your growing up and character formation.
• Describe the experience of self-disclosure in your childhood and the consequences it had.
• How I used to cope with stress at high school .
• Write about your family trips and the effect they had on the relationships within your family.
• Analyze how the relationships with your peers impacted your growing up and adult life.
• How I learned to ride a bicycle .
• Examine how different teaching styles you’ve experienced in childhood influenced your growing up.

In other words, try to focus on something that made your growing up experience memorable and tell about it.

What if you do not feel like talking about your own experience in the essay on growing up? Do not worry. There are many other ways to complete your paper.

What follows next are additional ideas for you:

• Write essays on growing up based on a work of literature or songs . Choose your favorite piece of literature or a song that talks about growing up. Write several paragraphs about the portrayal of the growing up period in music or literature.
• Write essays on growing up with a single parent . Write an essay about growing up without a father or mother . What is it like? What impact can it make on a person’s character?
• Write about growing up without parents . A childhood spent in an orphanage or with distant relatives can have lasting consequences . Think about the effects it can have on a person’s character.
• Write an essay about growing up in a small town. Think about the advantages and disadvantages of living in a small town . Why do you think it’s good or bad to live in a small town?
• Write about youth growing up fast. Children become adults quite quickly. Discuss the possible reasons for children to grow up faster.
• What happens to the mentally challenged children when they grow up?
• Examine how Nhuong depicted childhood in the book Water Buffalo Days: Growing Up in Vietnam .
• Discuss the changes digital technology brought into a growing-up process.
• Childhood’s effect on adulthood: the story of John Wayne Gacy .
• Explain how the environment influences the growing up and physical development of a child.
• Describe the relation between difficult childhood and personal development .
• Description of lost childhood in Night by E. Wiesel.
• Analyze the consequences being bullied or being a bully in childhood may have in adult life.
• Frank Conroy’s childhood in his book Stop-Time.
• Explore how childhood development and growing up shown in Born to Learn video .
• Examine the stories about coming of age and infantilism in literature.
• Discuss the peculiarities of growing up in multiracial family .
• Analyze the authors experience in Country Pride: What I Learned Growing Up in Rural America by Sarah Smarsh .
• Describe the problem of childhood obesity and the ways it influences children’s life.

👧 Growing Up Topics for College Essays

Writing a college essay about growing up essay is a great opportunity to reflect on the challenges and triumphs that made you who you are. Here are some compelling essay prompts and topics that will help you share your unique coming-of-age experience.

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• Essay on how growing up has shaped my life. Describe the pivotal moments from your upbringing that have had an impact on your personality and aspirations. You may also reflect on the lessons learned from your family, friends, community, and cultural surroundings. How did these experiences shape your values and worldview?
• What are the effects of growing up in poverty? Essays on this topic can explain how growing up in financially disadvantaged circumstances shapes people’s lives. If it’s something that resonates with you, you can write about it in your college essay. For example, describe the challenges you’ve faced and the experiences that have fostered your resilience. You can also analyze how these circumstances have impacted your values, such as a passion for social justice.
• What are the challenges of growing up? Consider the impact of family dynamics and cultural influences on your personal development. You can also discuss how overcoming these challenges has influenced you as a person and how it made you stronger.
• Is taking risks a necessary part of growing up? An essay on this topic can discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks of taking risks at a young age. Is taking risks an essential part of maturing and gaining independence, or are there other ways to learn? Remember to provide examples to illustrate your point.
• Fear of growing up. For this essay, consider how young people grapple with the challenges of transitioning to adulthood. What anxieties are associated with leaving behind the safety of childhood? Discuss the potential consequences of the fear of embracing adult responsibilities and provide real-life examples.
• Explain how peer influence shapes a person’s identity.
• The challenges of being the oldest sibling.
• How does one’s cultural background determine one’s childhood milestones?
• Social media and the coming-of-age experience.
• How education shapes a person’s future opportunities.
• The impact of childhood experiences on adult development.
• Explore the influence of gender identity on your journey to adulthood.
• The connection between your childhood hobby and adult career choice.
• The importance of self-discovery in the process of growing up.
• Write about the challenges and joys of adolescence.

📝 College Essay about Growing Up: Example

For your inspiration, we came up with a growing-up college essay example. It will provide insights into the content and structure and help you write an outstanding paper.

I have always been captivated by the world of art. Throughout my childhood and adolescence, I have been experimenting with different forms of self-expression, such as painting and sketching.

As a child, I was fortunate to have a supportive family that nurtured my love for art. My mother enrolled me in an art class and was always ready to provide me with supplies. All this helped foster my creativity to the point where I decided to pursue an art education in college.

During my teenage years, I was surrounded by a diverse group of friends who shared my interests. We went to galleries, attended art events, and collaborated on projects. These friendships enriched my artistic perspective even further. They also taught me about the diversity of creativity and expression.

In addition to art, I have various hobbies that help me become better at what I do. In particular, I enjoy reading non-fiction about renowned artists. Aside from traditional art forms, I also experiment with photography and digital design.

My family and friends played a major role in my decision to pursue a career as a creative. Their support and my belief in the power of self-expression will help me contribute to our school and the whole community.

Thank you for reading this article! Hopefully, you found the information written here useful. If so, don’t forget to comment and share this article with your friends.

This might be interesting for you:

• School Days Essay: How to Describe a Memorable Event
• Childhood Memories Essay: Brilliant Writing Ideas
• Writing Essay about Someone Who Has Made an Impact on Your Life
• Excellent Remembering a Person Essay: Free Writing Guidelines
• Life Experience Essay: How to Write a Brilliant Paper
• Essays that Worked: Hamilton College
• Essay Growing Up: Bartleby
• Narrative Writing: Brigham Young University
• Reflection Essay: Kent State University
• My Childhood Memories Essay: Cram
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College newspaper sweeps up 2 tiny publications in a volley against growing news deserts

Executive Editor Sabine Martin works in The Daily Iowan newsroom, Feb. 29, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. With many small town newspapers closing, student journalists across the country are heading to school board meetings and covering local elections to fill the void. But now an effort at the University of Iowa has taken it one step further, with the student paper buying two struggling weeklies in what is believed to be a first. (Emily Nyberg/The Daily Iowan via AP)

Sports Editor Kenna Roering works with sports reporters in The Daily Iowan newsroom, Feb. 29, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. With many small town newspapers closing, student journalists across the country are heading to school board meetings and covering local elections to fill the void. But now an effort at the University of Iowa has taken it one step further, with the student paper buying two struggling weeklies in what is believed to be a first. (Emily Nyberg/The Daily Iowan via AP)

Editors talk in The Daily Iowan newsroom, Feb. 29, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. With many small town newspapers closing, student journalists across the country are heading to school board meetings and covering local elections to fill the void. But now an effort at the University of Iowa has taken it one step further, with the student paper buying two struggling weeklies in what is believed to be a first. (Emily Nyberg/The Daily Iowan via AP)

A designer puts a page together in The Daily Iowan newsroom, Feb. 29, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. With many small town newspapers closing, student journalists across the country are heading to school board meetings and covering local elections to fill the void. But now an effort at the University of Iowa has taken it one step further, with the student paper buying two struggling weeklies in what is believed to be a first. (Emily Nyberg/The Daily Iowan via AP)

Executive Editor Sabine Martin, right, passes a drafted paper to Managing Editor Parker Jones in The Daily Iowan newsroom, Feb. 29, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Emily Nyberg/The Daily Iowan via AP)

A designer puts a page together in The Daily Iowan newsroom, Feb. 29, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Emily Nyberg/The Daily Iowan via AP)

• Copy Link copied

With hundreds of U.S. newspaper closings leaving legions with little access to local news, a college newspaper in Iowa has stepped up to buy two struggling weekly publications.

The move by The Daily Iowan, a nonprofit student paper for the University of Iowa, is believed to be a first, though other universities are stepping up to fill America’s news void in different ways.

Students will work alongside the papers’ existing one- or two-person reporting staffs and put themselves to work covering the small communities of Mount Vernon, Lisbon and Solon, Iowa. The weeklies’ owner proposed the buyout to save the publications, which have a combined circulation of 1,900.

“It’s a really great way to help the problem of news deserts in rural areas,” said Sabine Martin, executive editor of The Daily Iowan , who will copy edit stories for one of the papers. She already oversees editorial operations for a school paper whose most recent tax filings show had more than $2 million in net assets.

Since 2005, the U.S. has lost about 70% of newsroom jobs and one-third of all newspapers, said Zach Metzger, director of the State of Local News Project at Northwestern University. He described the industry’s downfall as a “cliff dive.”

Traditional media has been in that dive since big tech and social media began siphoning off the monster share of advertising dollars.

Richard Watts, director for the Center for Community News at the University of Vermont, said his group has identified 120 university-led student reporting programs that provide local news.

A handful of college publications had already been heavily invested in local news, including the University of Missouri, where professional editors supervise journalism students who have produced a community newspaper for decades.

“There’s lots of examples of programs stepping in because the local media ecosystem doesn’t exist in the way it once did,” said Watts, whose school oversees a service that provides student stories to professional news outlets.

It’s a microcosm of industry experimentation, said Barbara Allen, director of college programming at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank.

“I don’t think anybody out there is bold enough yet to say, you know, this is the magic bullet,” she said. “We now believe in a magic shotgun ... it’s going to take hundreds of pellets.”

Each college newspaper attack on news deserts — wide swaths of U.S. communities with no dedicated source of local news — looks different. Some report on state legislatures and distribute the stories statewide. Others produce stories for Spanish-language publications or expand their coverage beyond campus events so they can circulate their papers throughout the community, Watts said.

The man behind selling the two Iowa papers is Bob Woodward, no relation to the Watergate scandal reporter. His family’s business, Woodward Communications, was trying to figure out what to do with two properties that “weren’t performing very well.”

Woodward knew that journalism students at the University of Kansas run an online news site for a nearby community that lost its newspaper. He also knew that the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication saved a 148-year-old weekly, The Oglethorpe Echo, in 2021 by taking it over and turning it into a nonprofit that students write stories for. The deal went through virtually for free, distinguishing it from The Daily Iowan transaction.

And then there is the University of Oregon, where students stepped up to help the Eugene Weekly after it fell victim to an embezzlement scheme in late 2023 that forced layoffs. The students even helped break a story that led to the local school superintendent being outsted, said Peter Laufer, chair of the university’s journalism school.

With these stories in mind, Woodward approached The Daily Iowan’s publisher, Jason Brummond, and asked if it would be interested in a deal.

“We don’t like being in the business of closing newspapers, frankly, or even selling them, but we just felt like they probably deserved a better home,” said Woodward, who stepped down as vice president of the news business earlier this year to oversee fundraising to pay reporters.

Brummond took the proposal to Student Publications Inc., the non-profit that manages The Daily Iowan, and its board approved it unanimously. (The board’s chair, Ryan J. Foley, is an AP correspondent in Iowa City who graduated from the university in 2003.)

The deal was finalized in February, with the nonprofit that runs The Daily Iowan taking over the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun and the Solon Economist.

Neither Woodward nor Brummond disclosed the sale price, though Woodward described it as “a fairly nominal amount.” Brummond said Student Publications may ultimately be required to disclose the amount as part of a tax filing.

Interviews will start soon for interns for the two Iowa papers, said Brummond, who also is serving as publisher of the two weeklies. So far the work has been mainly behind the scenes, absorbing the papers’ half dozen part- and full-time reporters and ad employees and redesigning the publications’ print and online editions.

By fall, university reporting classes will assign stories on the two communities and the editors will decide whether to use them. Ultimately, non-journalism majors might be enlisted to help with the business side of operations.

“Our hope for this is that these are sustainable models that are producing really good journalism,” Brummond said.

Nathan Countryman, the editor at the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun, is eager for the help covering meetings, graduation and beloved community events like Sauerkraut Days. More importantly, though, the deal means the paper won’t close.

“We know what that means for our community,” he said.