Let me preface this by saying I graduated from a high school with less than 400 students, and there were less than 100 in my graduating class. At the time, I probably didn’t appreciate the good things as much as I do looking back.  Even old rivalries are forgotten, and the majority of my schoolmates are now my Facebook friends.  Many of us, while in it, couldn’t wait to get out.  There are really great things about small town high schools and some…well, not so much.  However you feel about it, you will probably agree that these are true (if you are honest).

1. If you went out for a sport, you made the team.
paris.k12.mo.us
Without all the competition (or numbers) there is room for everyone on the team, and coaches truly make an effort to let everyone play.
2. You could name everyone in your graduating class, if not your whole school.
"Avilla High School class of 1937" by Unknown - newspaper clipping, The Carthage Press, Carthage Missouri 64836. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons -
Side Note: This clipping from The Carthage Press dated April 3, 1937 depicts Avilla High School students. During the 1930s grade cards were marked "H," "M" and "L," meaning high, medium and low. Classes would start at 9:00 A.M. giving the students time to do farm chores (feeding animals, milking cows, etc.) before it was time to be at school.
3. Everyone knew everything across the board (or at least they thought they did). Parents talked to each other and so did everyone else.
Pixabay.com
Gossip and rumors abound, and secrets are hard to keep secret.
4. Your school borders a corn (or some other crop) field on at least one side.
"FEMA - 2082 - Photograph by Andrea Booher taken on 07-09-1993 in Missouri" by Andrea Booher - This image is from the FEMA Photo Library.. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons -
There's a good chance of it anyway.
5. You could take Spanish. If your school was truly progressive, you might be offered French or German as well. But mostly just Spanish.
Pixabay.com
There are exceptions. If you are in a community of German heritage, it might be German. Either way, small towns don't usually offer a multitude of different languages.
6. The teachers all knew you and everything you did, as well as who your brothers/sisters were.
Pixabay.com
If they'd been there a while, they might have even taught your parents.

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7. Dating was limited due to lack of options, unless you went outside your school.
Pixabay.com
On the other hand, high school relationships in small towns are more likely to lead to marriage.
8. You know what FFA is.
Facebook/ Missouri FFA Association
A lot of small towns are farming communities, so participation in FFA (Future Farmer's of America) is pretty common.
9. Rivalries were usually with whatever school happened to be closest to you.
"Ozbulldog" by Uppersnake at en.wikipedia - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons -
Brookfield H.S. Bulldogs (town pop.4,542) vs. Marceline H.S. Tigers (town pop. 2,221)
"Tigress at Jim Corbett National Park" by Sumeet Moghe - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons -
This rivalry started in 1909. Every fall the Brookfield Bulldogs play the Marceline Tigers in the annual Bell Game celebrating one of the oldest high school football rivalries in the United States. The Bell Game won a USA Today national contest for the nation’s best football rivalry in 2012. The Bell Game rivalry received 1,761,878 votes and won a $10,000 prize divided equally between Brookfield and Marceline.
10. If you peed your pants in kindergarten, there is a chance they are STILL talking about it senior year of high school.
"Embarrassed woman" by Michael - Flickr: IMG_4240.jpg. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Commons -
Not to mention, nicknames are very hard to shake.
11. In small town high schools, you make friends for life.
Facebook/ Samantha Wells
There is a bond that is created and a loyalty to the mutual experience that is small town high school.

What are some other things that go along with a small town high school experience?  Parties in the middle of crop fields?  Cruising around town with a carload of friends?  Did you go to a small town high school?  What was your experience?  Share in the comments below.

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