Emily Kiernan

Lots can be told about a person based on where they are from, and I'm from the middle of nowhere. Meaning my house is only 72 miles from Canada and the closest box store is 45 minutes away. I live on Sheep Farm Road. And yes, there is actually a sheep farm. Sheep Farm Road is located in Weybridge, Vermont, a town of 800 people. There is a dairy and an elementary school, and that’s about it. A half an hour away there is a place to downhill and cross country ski in the winter. Twenty minutes away, there is a lake to swim in during the summertime. I live five minutes away from a bigger town, Middlebury. The only reason there is an actual town there is because of a college; Middlebury College. My high school was Middlebury Union High School. It was a union school, meaning seven different towns all filtered into one high school. It made an interesting dynamic, and I felt that I was exposed to people from very different upbringings. I was friends with college professor's children and kids who grew up on farms. Their differences were refreshing, and encouraged me to keep in touch with both crowds as we grew apart with our age. All businesses in Middlebury were local and I knew all the owners. I could not walk down the street without seeing someone I knew. Some people would hate that, but I loved it. My social skills developed quickly because I was conversing with adults I respected constantly. The community nourished my confidence by supporting me through all my bad haircuts, acne breakouts and other such failures in life. Without this community, I would not have the backbone I need to be successful in college. I may live in a rural area, but I could not of asked for a better place to grow up.