Where Am I?

Has someone ever asked you where your from?  A normal answer would be just the town you live in but some people might say Grand Island if you live in Aurora because most people don't know where Aurora is. But if you really think of where you come from there is so much more that could be said.  Montgomery Gentry sings "Where I Come From" and they really point out the little things that make it so special of the place you come from.  They talk about living in a small town going down main street knowing everyone and waving to just about anyone.  That's very similar to what i would say if someone asked me where i came from.  I'd considered my town is mainly centered around agriculture but with a strong economy throughout the town.  Aurora has a strong reputation for their athletics and academics and they are improving the school and resources to students every day.  I think this helps attract more family's to the area which in turns grows the town and economy.  I can't really relate to kids that grow up in cities or larger towns and honestly don't really want to.  You can't beat living in a small town.  Just walking into the grocery store in town it would be weird to see someone that you didn't know.  While driving around town everyone will be waving or honking at ya but when you go into a city you might get just a little different hand gesture.  Where you come from can be more than just the town.  I came from a family of five.  I have two older sisters with one living in the big city and loving it and the other wanting to be back in a small town.  I have a grandpa and grandma that live on a farm about a hour and a half from Aurora and another grandma that lives a merely 20 minutes.  My family always gets together on holidays and with the closer relatives will meet up just to catch up sometimes. Friends is another thing different in a small town i believe.  In our school you know everyone's name in you class and usually most of the people that are in high school with you.  Sure, there are the certain groups that hang out and do their thing but as long as you didn't rub someone the wrong way everyone's friends with everyone and if someone needs a ride or a favor your more than glad to help them even if you don't usually hang out with them.  I also come from the heart of Nebraska where if your traveling down I-80 all you'll see is corn and beans and a little more corn.  Anyone that has ever lived in nebraska, worked in Nebraska, or grown up in Nebraska knows what i'm talking about when i say the word detassling.  When late summer rolls around middle school kids and some high school kids start dredding whats about to start.  When the corn gets so old it needs detassled and since the machines can't be one hundred percent they hire kids for part time.  It's about the worst job you could find in the summer.  Walking through the corn in the morning soaking wet with your shoes getting stuck in the mud and then in the afternoon going through the field whens its 110 degrees out.  Sweats just dripping off of you head to toe.  I personally love all the work that goes into growing those crops.  I work on a farm and we farm a couple thousand acres but what makes my job different then most farmers in the county is that we have over five hundred head of cattle so even after harvest when most farmers slow down, our work is still going strong by fencing off the cornfields, loading up the feeder wagon, rolling out bales, or hauling water.  Another thing you'll see when going down I-80 is the sometimes beautiful Platte River.  I say sometimes because we've had a pretty rough streak of not much rain and the river has been drying up so all you see is dead grass and sand.  With no water in the river it can become a major problem for the farmers but here in Nebraska we are pretty lucky to have the Ogallala Aquifer below us and many people can drill wells on their fields for pipe or to put a pivot up.  I was also grown up around the outdoors.  I can remember going out to the duck blind real young just to watch and eat breakfast or going up to minnesota for a couple weeks to just sit back, relax, and fish.  Some people don't like the taste of wild game or fish and they would have a hard time living in our house because thats about all we eat.